Police hunt factory owner as authorities launch crackdown on illicit fireworks and LPG outlets
In a city where time bombs are ticking, thanks to LPG cylinders and fireworks, an explosion at an illegally operating fireworks factory on Saturday claimed seven lives and injured several others.
The deafening explosion, which was heard for kilometers away, devastated the ground floor structure of the Gothic Major Baqar building, in unit 10 of Latifabad, where the factory, supposedly owned by Asad Khan, operated. The death toll, initially reported at three, rose to seven within a couple of hours. The Liaquat University Hospital spokesperson confirmed having received four bodies, three of them burned beyond recognition.
Among the injured are people who worked at the factory. Of them, Sheraz Sanaullah, 45, suffered 100% burns, Waqas Arshad, 30, suffered 95% and Naeem Yousuf, 40, 90%. Three other patients, Anas Akram, 26, who suffered 40% burns, Kashif Arshad, 30, with 35% and Mushtaq Sadiq with 12%, were taken for treatment to the burn ward at LUH. An injured patient, Musarat Irshad, was discharged after receiving treatment.
Dilbar Halepoto, spokesperson for Rescue 1122, reported that they received information about an explosion around 4 p.m. The structure in question, surrounded by an agricultural field, was located near the Indus River embankment.
Halepoto recalled that smoke rose to distant corners of the town and that the mushroom cloud in the sky could be seen from afar. Thousands of people, including police, rescue personnel and government officials, arrived at the scene to carry out the rescue and post-incident investigation.
Volunteers joined rescuers, equipped with tools and machinery to cut through the rubble and remove debris, allowing the victims to be transported.
A video shared by Rescue 1122 showed a dead body trapped under rubble and the man’s broken legs were his only visible limbs. That body, after being unearthed, showed signs of having been roasted alive. Both of the deceased’s arms appeared rigid and raised upward as if the last struggle of his life was to avoid being crushed under the rubble. His identity remained unknown.
Police swung into action following the explosion, raiding the owner’s home and shops and recovering explosives from the residence. A police officer, who requested anonymity, told The Express PAkGazette that Khan had probably fled the city, as reflected by the last location of his mobile phone.
“Khan is absconding,” said Hyderabad SSP Adeel Chandio. He added that the factory was “illegal and secretly installed near the river dam.”
The SSP said that the police will wait for the relatives of the deceased before presenting the case to the state complaint. He said police launched an investigation to determine how Khan obtained a license in 2020, but did not reveal why police did not take action against a facility operating with an expired license.
Get license
On November 12, 2019, Khan acquired an agricultural land measuring 60 x 73 square yards, on rent, in Major Baqar Goth, from Muhammad Jameel. The land was acquired with Khan to pay a monthly rent of Rs 2,000.
Three days later, he submitted an application to DC Hyderabad for issuance of license for manufacture, sale and purchase of “minor flowers and colorful articles”. The DC office wrote to the SSP office to provide the character report of the applicant. “…there is nothing against him,” reads the SSP’s response dated December 9, 2019. “He is a peaceful and law-abiding citizen.”
On March 13, 2020, the Sindh Home Department issued a no-objection certification to Khan’s company, M/S Pakistan Fireworks, with address at plot number 131, Al-Rahim Town, Latifabad. The NOC was issued as per the 2010 Explosives Gazette.
Six days later, Khan finally obtained a licence, with a one-year expiry, from the DC Hyderabad office to “manufacture, possess and sell fireworks”.
However, the license was not issued for the address where the factory actually operated. Rather, the licensing letter highlighted, in bold, the address of the facility as plot number 131, Al-Rahim City.
SSP Hyderabad also confirmed the fact that the factory did not exist at the approved address. The letter also placed a limit on possession of no more than 25 pounds of explosives.
On May 30, 2024, an explosion occurred at a shop selling LPG, killing 27 people, including 20 children, in Pareetabad area.
A similar explosion visited Hyderabad again on April 29 this year, when a fire ripped through a huge scrapyard, a parking lot, a cottage industry and a cattle pen, causing explosions in multiple LPG cylinders. Fortunately, no victims were reported.
Despite these incidents, LPG refilling shops and those selling fireworks continue to operate with impunity in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abideen issued a notification ordering action against illegal warehouses of fireworks. It has also formed committees to identify and close warehouses, factories and LPG filling points that operate in violation of the law.
The DC has directed officials to submit weekly reports and hold progress meetings, while citizens have been urged to report suspicious activities or illegal businesses to 022-9200244, the notification said.
