KARACHI NEIGHBORHOOD STRUCK BY "OIL RAIN"

UNCLAS KARACHI 000654 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV SOCI PK SUBJECT: KARACHI NEIGHBORHOOD STRUCK BY "OIL RAIN" ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Eastern Karachi area of Korangi experienced what residents are calling "oil rain" on Wednesday night, December 17. A pipeline carrying crude oil that passes through the neighborhood from the nearby Port of Karachi was damaged by maintenance workers from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and proceeded to shoot its contents a reported 50 to 60 feet into the air for nearly three and a half hours. Homes, schools, and businesses near the pipeline were covered with oil. Angry residents are demanding a massive clean up effort and compensation by the government. A steady rain on Thursday night and Friday morning may have spread further the potential contamination from the crude oil. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Although it is unclear exactly how the pipe was broken, the oil leak began around 6:15 pm and was not contained until 10:00 pm. When the leak began, SSGC contacted the owner of the pipeline, Pak Arab Refinery Limited Corporation (PARCO),whose emergency response team finally arrived in the neighborhood at 8:00 pm. SSGC issued a statement accepting responsibility for the oil pipe leak, saying one of its maintenance crews had inadvertently damaged the pipe. SSGC immediately cut off gas to the neighborhood as a safety precaution, and electrical service was also turned off in the area around the leak. Some underground water tanks in the area were contaminated by the leak making the area unlivable for some residents. ¶3. (SBU) As at many disaster scenes, reporters documented a wide variety of behavior. Some residents began to leave the area with their possessions, obviously planning to stay with family or friends not affected by the spill. Other residents began immediately to clean their homes and businesses. A group of men was seen filling cans and buckets with the crude oil and driving away with them on their donkey carts. The next morning the oil was still ankle deep in some places, and some residents who had evacuated the area began returning to their homes. ¶4. (SBU) The health and environmental impacts on Korangi cannot be measured in the short run. Some of the oil spilled into the sewer system which means it will probably find its way into the ocean and damage marine life. Domestic birds and animals as well as wildlife may die from exposure to the toxic crude oil. The long term health affects on residents may not be known for years although several residents were taken to local hospitals. ¶5. (SBU) Many local residents were angered by what they viewed as a weak and ineffective response from the government. Sand was spread by sanitation workers to absorb the oil but no collection system for the contaminated sand was in place. Residents openly expressed their concerns about ground contamination and health problems that may result from the petroleum spill. A contact in the Karachi Mayor's office described the clean up as well organized but said there was a lingering odor from the crude oil throughout the area. He also commented that the local government had conducted the response without any help from the national or provincial government disaster management teams. A report he provided said an area within a one kilometer radius of the leak was affected, that the fountain of oil had reached heights of over 100 feet, and that open roofs had flooded with oil. The "Oil Rain" is one more bad news story for Karachi in December, a month in which the city has already experienced ethnic violence. The rain which fell as the week ended was not cleansing but instead caused more electrical outages in the city and may have further spread the contamination caused by the oil spill. FAKAN