Saturday, February 14, 2026
HomeNews16 Children Dead In Karachi In 2 Weeks Due To Toxic...

16 Children Dead In Karachi In 2 Weeks Due To Toxic Emissions From Illegal Factories

Published on

KARACHI: At least 19 deaths, including that of 16 children, have occurred in 16 days alone in Muach Goth area of Kemari, Karachi, which locals blame on fumes and gasses from illegal factories in the area. 

BBC Urdu reports that factories that burn plastic in the area have been held responsible by the locals, but the health department claims that the deaths took place due to chemicals that cause lung disease. There were already grease and oil manufacturing factories operating regularly in the area. Chinese companies are also allegedly burning iron ore in the vicinity, and causing pollution.

The symptoms leading up to the deaths included a cough, then fever and shortness of breath, after which the affectees passed away within a few days. The deceased also experienced tightening of the chest area.

After the order of inquiry by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, four factories were sealed while the health department took blood samples and other tests of the affected people to examine the causes of the deaths. According to DC Kemari Mukhtiar Ali Abru, fumes of burnt plastic created smoke that damaged children’s throats, leading to pneumonia-like symptoms. 

According to the Sindh Health Department, medical camps have been established in the area while further investigation in relation to this environmental hazard is underway. The Environment Department of Sindh has also been asked to investigate the emission of gasses. It should be remembered that the affected area is the constituency of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel.

Latest articles

Overlooking Homegrown Hate, Pakistan Hesitates to Call Islamabad Blast Anti-Shia Violence

ISLAMABAD - Just hours before a suicide bomber struck the Khadija Tul Kubra Shia mosque in Islamabad during Friday...

How Imaan-Hadi Conviction Marks the Death of Fair Trial in Pakistan

Last week, a trial court in Islamabad convicted human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha under...

PTI’s Ambiguous Rhetoric on Taliban Is Dangerous for Pakistan’s Counter-Extremism Efforts

This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Lauren Brown Fellowship. Islamabad - Shafiullah Jan, special assistant to...

How My Daughter’s Trial Exposes Pakistan’s Assault on Human Rights

My daughter, a human rights lawyer, and her husband are currently on trial in Pakistan under cybercrime charges for...

600 Students Affected As Blast Destroys Government School in Waziristan

This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Lauren Brown Fellowship. ISLAMABAD - Militants in Pakistan’s volatile Waziristan...

Unseen Victims: How Pakistan’s Drone War is Haunting Tirah Valley

This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Lauren Brown Fellowship. Tirah Valley, Pakistan - After three months...

KARACHI: At least 19 deaths, including that of 16 children, have occurred in 16 days alone in Muach Goth area of Kemari, Karachi, which locals blame on fumes and gasses from illegal factories in the area. 

BBC Urdu reports that factories that burn plastic in the area have been held responsible by the locals, but the health department claims that the deaths took place due to chemicals that cause lung disease. There were already grease and oil manufacturing factories operating regularly in the area. Chinese companies are also allegedly burning iron ore in the vicinity, and causing pollution.

The symptoms leading up to the deaths included a cough, then fever and shortness of breath, after which the affectees passed away within a few days. The deceased also experienced tightening of the chest area.

After the order of inquiry by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, four factories were sealed while the health department took blood samples and other tests of the affected people to examine the causes of the deaths. According to DC Kemari Mukhtiar Ali Abru, fumes of burnt plastic created smoke that damaged children’s throats, leading to pneumonia-like symptoms. 

According to the Sindh Health Department, medical camps have been established in the area while further investigation in relation to this environmental hazard is underway. The Environment Department of Sindh has also been asked to investigate the emission of gasses. It should be remembered that the affected area is the constituency of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Also Read

In Karachi, Deadly Manholes Are Killing Children As Authorities...

For children, 14 August is all about flags on...

Civil Society Holds Protest Against Killing Of Shia Teachers...

Members of civil society in Karachi organised a protest...

Refused Treatment, Later Denied Burial: Karachi Transwoman’s Tragic Death

An elderly transwoman, who passed away after allegedly being...

Assistant Commissioner Hazim Bangwar Receives Extremist Backlash For Getting...

In yet another episode of intolerance, Assistant Commissioner of...