Six people were killed and about ninety-five injured when a Pakistan Navy support ship caught fire during a maintenance operation yesterday, navy and hospitals officials said.
"There was a small spark during the maintenance operation which turned into a massive fireball," a senior navy official told Gulf News.
"At least 6 personnel died in the fire and 95 were injured," he said.
At least 55 of them are seriously hurt, he said.
"The death toll is likely to climb because many of the victims have suffered serious burns," said a doctor at PNS Shifa hospital.
"Some of the seriously hurt were shifted to the intensive care unit," he said.
Navy sources said that the PNS Moawin, which recently returned from a relief operation for the tsunami victims, was badly damaged in the fire. The ship, which was anchored at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard, serves as auxiliary vessel that serves as one of two fleet tankers. It formerly belonged to the Dutch Navy.
Damaged
Another ship, Malakand, standing nearby was also slightly damaged, they said.
Salman Ali, a Pakistan Navy spokesman, said the fire was triggered during the maintenance work.
"Thank God, now the fire has been extinguished," he said. Witnesses said they saw dozens of private and Navy ambulances rushing towards the scene of the accident, where a massive security ring was thrown up by naval personnel.
Helicopters were used to rush the victims to hospital, they said.
"There was a huge explosion," said one witness. "We saw black plumes of smoke billowing from the vessel," he said. Earlier, media reports and naval sources had said the fire broke out when sailors were busy with routine exercises.
Helicopters swarmed in the air over the enormous tanker, which was sitting on a dock in the Arabian Sea.
The fire broke out about a week after Pakistan and neighbouring Iran held joint naval exercises in the Arabian Sea.
