3 factory owners booked for manslaughter after 18 died from ‘toxic smoke’ in Karachi

Police on Sunday arrested three factory owners on charges of manslaughter and negligence after 18 people—including 16 children—died due to ‘toxic fumes’ in the past several weeks in Karachi’s Keamari district.

Over the past few days, 18 people have reportedly died in the neighbourhood due to inhaling mysterious toxic gases emitting from factories functioning in residential areas.

Officials from the Sindh health department earlier said the deaths took place over a period of two weeks — between Jan 10 and 25 — in Ali Muhammad Goth and Mowach Goth.

Sindh health authorities has hinted that they could not “exclude measles virus as a risk factor of outbreak” but remained cautious to jumping to conclusions before “confirmation of blood sample” reports.

According to Mochko Station House Officer (SHO) Chaudhry Shahid, a first information report (FIR) has been registered against three factory owners.

He said that the case was registered on the complaint of a citizen who had lost four family members while living in Ali Mohammed Goth, located on Suparco Road near Mowach Goth.

“Among the three nominated suspects, only one has been arrested so far,” the officer said.

The FIR was registered under Sections 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 284 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.