Fourteen people have died and over 100 have been hospitalised in the Pakistani port city of Karachi since a mysterious leak of toxic gas in the air on 16 February, reports Dawn.
The reason for the gas leak and the type of gas involved has not yet been confirmed by the Pakistani government.
The police in the affected area earlier said that the gas leak was coming from a chemical container of a ship docked at one of the ports in the city.
The gas leak in the nation's largest city and the country’s main commercial hub has turned out to be a significant challenge for the federal government.
The delay in finding the exact cause of the leak has people speculating about the role of a nuclear power facility in Karachi that is 10 km away from Keamari.
Due to the odourless gas, people are experiencing respiratory problems, dizziness, nausea, and stomachaches.
The hospitals have run out of oxygen as the number of people affected is constantly increasing. According to doctors, some patients are experiencing acute asthmatic attacks.
Several took to Twitter to lodge their fears of the incident as uncertainty looms large, with some even suggesting that the situation reminded them of Chernobyl.
Last night Hazardous gas leak in Karachi near Nuclear Power Complex Kiamari #PAKISTAN.
— Cdr Neel Mitra Retd. (@blue_saturn) February 17, 2020
60 deaths are reported & over 100 unconscious. @OfficialDGISPR is not disclosing what is the nature and purpose of "Poisonous Gas".
Is Pakistan heading towards Chernobyl type situation ?
#Karachi#Karachi
— ترسیم (@tarseem10918) February 18, 2020
Failure to cope with the gas leak in Arachi has left Karachiites in the worst worries over the #Chinese nuclear power plant being set up in Karachi.
How devastating it would be in the event of a nuclear accident or a radiation leak!☢️☢️☢️#radiation #GasLeak
#Pakistan: Something going on here 👇
— IndoPacific News (@IndoPac_Info) February 16, 2020
Reports of Gas leak in Kiamari, Karachi. Many casualities reported, this area lies near the Karachi Nuclear Power Complex. https://t.co/owKhMd121i
In 2011, an emergency was declared by the Pakistani government at the same nuclear power plant in Karachi after a gas leak prompted concerns.
The Chernobyl disaster was an accident at a nuclear power plant near the city of Pripyat, Ukraine in 1986 that destroyed one of the nuclear reactors there. Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) then caused hundreds of deaths in the weeks after the accident.
