70 hospitalised in Karachi port gas leak

At least 70 workers of a chemical plant here were hospitalised on Friday after inhaling leaked chlorine gas, according to media reports.

The leak was reported in Engro Polymer and Chemicals Plant in Karachi's Port Qasim.

"Timely precautionary measures were taken to protect the employees working in the plant. The affected were taken to a nearby hospital and the plant has been temporarily closed," a spokesperson of Engro was quoted by The Express Tribune as saying.

All the 70 affected workers were discharged from hospital, excepting one who is in critical condition, the Dawn News reported.

The chlorine gas leaked from the air vents in the plant, the report added.

Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali told the Dawn News that one of the workers was in critical condition while the rest were discharged from the hospital.

This is the second gas leak incident in Karachi in the last one month. A mysterious toxic gas had killed at least 14 people and sickened several others on February 16. The source of the toxic gas leak remains unclear.