2020 has so far seen a lot of outbreaks and crises, and we are only two months into the year. This time the news is from South Asia, where an unnamed gas leak has killed 14 people in Pakistan. The metropolitan city of Sindh, which is also one of the main ports in the region, Karachi, is the most affected, and the officials have yet to figure out the source of the leak.

Hundreds of victims are placed in intensive care, and issues related to breathing have become prevalent in the southern part. Dr Zafar Mehdi of Sindh Province’s Health Department has confirmed the number of deaths and affectees and says that they are performing autopsies on the dead to investigate the chemicals and toxic gases that have caused this outbreak.

Source: Gulf News

The results of the post-mortem reports are expected soon, but the citizens are panicking because the officials have searched all parts of the port, and there seem to be no visible signs that indicate a leak.

Source: Dawn

A resident of Karachi’s seaside neighborhood of Kemari, Sundas Rasheed, gave a statement to CNN saying, “Around 10 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) on Sunday, we got a call that there had been some sort of gas leak and people are dying. Hordes of people [were] coming with their faces covered, ambulances rushing towards the port. Our car windows were rolled up but eyes were irritated and burning; something is clearly wrong. We’ve evacuated our home.”

Source: CNN

The citizens are also protesting against the government who has failed to give this outbreak a name as the Karachi Port Trust Chairman, Jameel Akhtar, says, “All terminals and berths have been checked. Even private terminals, the oil piers, oil installation areas have been checked. No gas or chemical leakage. If there was a gas leak at the port, the first affected would have been the people who work near the court.”

The Pakistan Navy has reportedly gathered contents from around the seaport and is investigating the cause of the leak.