Karachi Orders Probe Into Port Container Blaze as Separate Mall Fire Kills Two

Overview

• Friday’s fire ignited at about 1:35 p.m. inside a container near Berth No. 27 at the Karachi International Container Terminal and spread among closely stacked boxes.
• Karachi Port Trust led a coordinated response that brought the blaze under control using eight KPT tenders supported by four Pakistan Navy units, one Karachi Shipyard unit and two Rescue 1122 tenders, with no loss of life at the port.
• The Maritime Affairs ministry constituted an inquiry committee of senior KPT officers to coordinate with KICT operators on cause and accountability, while a preliminary police probe points to a possible short circuit inside a container.
• Officials reported that imported goods, mostly lithium batteries across roughly 20 containers, were destroyed, with financial losses still being assessed.
• In a separate incident Saturday night, a shopping mall on MA Jinnah Road caught fire, leaving at least two dead and several injured as firefighters evacuated people using a snorkel and deployed eight tenders.