The blast occurred in the fuel tank of the oil tanker, which was moored in Gaddani, 45km northwest of the port city of Karachi, Reuters reported. It was still unclear the name and owner of the ship.
“There’s an unclear number of workers said to be trapped in the burning ship,” Basheer Mehmoodani, president of the shipbreaking workers union, was quoted saying. It is feared that the death toll may rise further.
Firefighters, the air force and navy were on site to put out the raging blaze, it was reported.
Workers at shipbreaking yards, particularly those in Pakistan and Bangladesh, often work in hazardous and poor conditions without basic protective gear.
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