KARACHI: At least 20 containers, mostly containing electrical batteries, were destroyed as a huge fire erupted at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on Friday afternoon, but no casualties were reported as workers were away for Friday prayer, according to officials and rescue services officials.

South-DIG, Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the police “immediately responded to the fire that broke out in a container at Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), West Wharf, within the limits of Docks police”, while rescue and fire teams also reached there for fire extinguishing efforts.

Rescue 1122 Spokesperson, Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan, said that the central command and control room “received information of the outbreak of fire in a container at West Wharf, gate-20 at around 1:45pm”.

“Another container caught the fire by the time the team reached the spot,” he told Dawn, adding, “The teams then called for back-up rescue teams.”

“The container carrying electrical, dry chemical and lithium batteries spontaneously triggered the fire, which spread and engulfed 19 other containers carrying batteries, clothes and other goods,” the Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding all 20 containers were completely destroyed, causing massive financial losses.

He noted that his teams faced difficulties in putting out the fire as it did not require water to extinguish it, but a specialised powder to control it.

Khan further said, “The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation had provided water tankers, while 20 fire tenders of the rescue service, fire brigade of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), KPT and Pakistan Navy managed to control the fire by 4:50pm.”

Regarding the possible cause of the fire, Khan said, “This is an emerging challenge for firefighters in the metropolis as such batteries being used in electrical vehicles spontaneously trigger fire due to certain temperature and emerging as a new health hazard.”

He recalled that last year, a luxury electronic vehicle parked at a showroom in Defence Housing Authority had triggered a fire because of its battery, resulting in death of two women and injuries to several others.

Khan suspected the same thing might have happened in today’s incident at the KPT, as the container which caught fire was carrying a similar type of batteries.

Khan said their rescue teams were collaborating with rescue teams in Punjab and Islamabad to deal with the new challenge of spontaneous fire that is emerging due to the batteries being used in electric vehicles.

However, Raza told Dawn that during the initial probe, it transpired that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the container filled with clothes, which spread and engulfed other containers. “The fire was completely controlled by 4:30pm, however, cooling work continued.”

He said so far, no injury was reported, while further information about the incident and financial losses was being obtained.

According to a KPT source, the fire broke out in a container at the KICT, Karachi Port West Wharf, and spread quickly to the nearby containers.

He said an immediate and well-coordinated emergency response was carried out, led by the KPT Fire Brigade Service. A total of eight fire tenders from KPT, supported by four from the Pakistan Navy, one from Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, and two from KMC, were deployed on the site.

“Through swift action, effective coordination, and professional handling by all responding teams, the fire was successfully brought under control, preventing its spread and ensuring the safety of port infrastructure and operations,” the source said.

He acknowledged and appreciated the timely support, professionalism, and teamwork of all participating agencies in safeguarding the Karachi port.

In 2020, two people were burned to death, and three others were injured when a huge fire broke out at an oil terminal in Keamari.