Last Sunday, a great tragedy fell upon the citizens of Karachi. People from the area of Kemari started filling the hospitals with breathing and choking issues. The hospital rush started on Sunday night and since then at least fourteen people have lost their lives.
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Gas Leak: A probable cause of the death toll
The biggest concern at this point is that no one knows the exact cause of the deaths and respiratory difficulties that have captured the citizens of Kemari. A speculated toxic gas leak has been reported as the probable cause but even the source of this gas leak has not been determined yet.
According to speculations made by officials inspecting the area, a ship that was offloading soybeans can possibly the cause of the gas leak. Experts, on the other hand, are not a big fan of the soybean theory.
A news story by Samaa quotes an engineer of the merchant navy and reports that if the soybean offloading was the cause of this sudden death toll, then the workers of the port should have all been affected.
The fact that only Kemari residents have been affected goes on to show that there was something wrong with the water supply. The speculation is that chemical waste has been disposed of improperly and this waste has seeped into the water supply.
How many people have been impacted so far?
Even though theories have been circulating around, officials are still wondering about what is the exact cause of the rising death toll in the Kemari area of Karachi. This cluelessness is causing the count of impacted people to grow with each passing day.
So far, 14 people have died and over 300 have been affected. Most of the patients are getting treated at Ziauddin hospital and Karachi Port Trust. According to the doctors involved in treatment, patients are primarily complaining about burning eyes and breathing problems.
What are some safety tips to survive the Apparent gas leak?
The pollutant count in the air surrounding the kemari area has gone up intensely and even though the area is getting evacuated, people from all the surrounding areas are in danger. If you are one of the residents of these areas, it is important that you follow some safety tips until the environment returns back to normal.
First and foremost, you should get a mask. If you are living close to the port side, you should get an N95 respirator mask since that is the only mask that can filter out gas fumes. If you are relatively far from the impacted area a surgical N95 mask should suffice. However, it is highly unadvisable to go out without any sort of protection. If you are unable to acquire a respirator mask, make sure that you at least have a surgical mask on when you are outdoors.
While traveling in cars, make sure that your windows are closed at all times. Try to limit outdoor activities and completely avoid exercising out in the open.
Lastly, if you are a resident of Karachi, you should not ignore any symptoms which point towards a respiratory problem. You should immediately visit the nearest hospital or a general physician depending upon the intensity of your problem and get yourself checked out. You can also use oladoc’s app or call our helpline at 021-381-40600 to book an appointment with the best general physicians in Karachi.
