KARACHI: Oil pipeline burst causes panic in Korangi
They said workers of the Sui Southern Gas Company were working on their pipeline running along the oil pipeline that burst at around 6.30pm. Sources said the gas utility workers had accidentally drilled the oil pipeline.
A large number of people gathered around the pipeline as several ambulances of Edhi and Chhipa rushed to the spot.
No one was reported hurt in the incident though several residents suffered headaches and nausea as the winds spread the oil fumes into the air.
The witnesses said that the oil gushed out of the 20-inch pipeline with an immense pressure and it sprayed many houses located in Sector 48-B.
“Initially I thought it was raining in the locality as the strong winds spread the oil all over the place,” said a resident.
Announcements were made from mosques advising people not to strike matches and flick cigarette lighters.
Power supply to the area was also suspended as a precautionary measure.
Parco officials said the oil supply through the damaged line had been stopped and the hole in the pipeline plugged.
The witnesses said that the oil kept gushing out at least for two hours. They said the oil stopped flowing out of the damaged pipeline at around 8.30pm and the Parco workers started plugging the hole at around 9.10pm.
The area DSP, Fakhrul Islam, told Dawn that the situation was under control and city government officials had reached the spot immediately and taken precautionary measures.
He said sand was being poured on the oil to avert a risk of fire.
Meanwhile, sources said that the crude oil pipeline was drilled by irresponsible crew of the Sui Southern Gas Company in the Korangi Industrial Area on Wednesday, causing disruption in supplies to the Multan refinery and endangering a large number of people residing in the area.
They said the gas company’s crew was working on the maintenance of its old pipeline which had developed low pressure and the crew accidentally drilled the Parco's bulk crude oil pipeline.
It was not known how the SSGC crew could accidentally drill the oil pipeline.
A spokesman for the utility said that an inquiry had been initiated into the incident. He said the crew was busy installing a regulator on an eight-inch gas pipeline.
Health problems
Residents of the affected Korangi area complained that the crude oil gushing up to 20 metres high from a pipeline ruptured in Union Council No 4 caused health problems to children and elders on Wednesday night.
The oil, which appeared like a drizzle initially and soaked the ground outside their houses, was spread by strong winds and now it was becoming difficult for the residents to breathe, said a teenaged resident of Sector 48-B, where streets have been coated by the gleaming oil.
An environmentalist, Shahid Lutfi, referring to television broadcasts said that the discharge of oil in Korangi was something different from a spill in the sea and efforts should be made to get the affected residents ready for a voluntary evacuation at the earliest as the air reeking of oil not only tasted foul to the tongue but also created some severe health problems for individuals if they stayed exposed to it for a few hours.
People should stay away until the authorities concerned ensure their safety in the area, he remarked.
A senior police officer told Dawn from the affected area that the pungent smell of oil had also caused a headache to him and his colleagues.
Meanwhile, residents in the surrounding areas of the incident demanded that the government quickly wipe the oil off the road and streets.
When contacted to know the level of environmental damage or threat to people’s lives, the director-general of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, Naeem A. Mughal, said he was rushing to the area and would be able to comment only after reaching the spot. However, later he could not be contacted by Dawn despite several attempts.