At least 12 people were killed and 58 others injured during a series of explosions that occurred during work on an unused oil tanker in the Gadani shipbreaking yard on Tuesday.

The Deputy superintendent police Hub confirmed the death toll to DawnNews and added that workers said over 100 people were working on the ship at the time of explosion.

The whereabouts of at least 30 other workers remain unknown. Some workers remain trapped inside the ship, whereas others who were able to exit the ship from above threw themselves into the sea, DawnNews reported.

Pakistan Navy was also taking part in the fire fighting and rescue operation and had deployed four fire tenders and two ambulances to facilitate the local administration.

The operation was underway till the filing of this report as the wreckage of the ship was still on fire and the heat was hindering fire fighting efforts.</s>At least eight people were killed and dozens were wounded in a series of explosions Tuesday at a ship breaking yard in southwest Pakistan, officials said.

The blasts happened at the Gadani yard in Balochistan Province, Deputy Commissioner Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah told CNN.

More than 30 workers are missing, according to police officer Rehmatullah Chutta.

The explosions occurred when more than 200 employees were working on an unused oil tanker, Chutta told CNN. He said more than 45 people were injured in the blasts, which rocked the town of Gadani, about 30 miles northwest of Karachi.

Video from the scene shows thick dark clouds of smoke rising from the ship breaking yard.

A medical officer based at Balochistan's Gadani Hospital told CNN that six bodies were brought to the hospital. "The victims are severely burned," Muhammad Younas Baloch said. The hospital went into emergency operations mode to take in and treat the injured, he added. Shortly after the incident, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif released a statement expressing "deep grief and sorrow over the loss of valuable lives in the explosions." The Gadani ship breaking yard is one of the largest in the world, running along 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the coast.</s>KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — An explosion at a ship breaking yard in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday killed at least seven laborers and wounded dozens of others, police said.

An oil tank exploded while workers were dismantling an old ship, police official Mohammad Abdullah. Initial reports indicated that dozens of laborers remained trapped after the blast in the coastal town of Gadani, he said. Several other workers jumped overboard into the sea as the fire raged, he added.

Abdullah said rescuers were transporting the casualties to a hospital in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

Shortly after the industrial accident, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a statement expressing sorrow for the “loss of valuable lives.” He ordered authorities to expedite the operation to rescue those stranded aboard the burning ship, and urged health officials to provide the best possible care to those wounded.

Gadani is one of the world’s largest ship breaking yards and was established in the 1970s. Laborers are often injured while breaking ships there, mainly due to poor safety measures.</s>KARACHI, Pakistan — Police say an explosion at a ship breaking yard in the country's southwest has killed at least seven and wounded dozens of others.

Police official Mohammad Abdullah says an oil tank exploded on Tuesday while workers were dismantling an old ship, which then caught fire. He says initial reports indicate dozens of remain trapped after the blast in the coastal town of Gadani. He says several workers jumped overboard into the sea as the fire raged.

Abdullah says rescuers are transporting the casualties to a hospital in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

Gadani is one of the world's largest ship breaking yards and was established in the 1970s. Laborers are often injured while breaking ships there, mainly due to poor safety measures.</s>Gadani is world’s third—largest shipbreaking centres — after Alang and Mumbai — where more than 15,000 workers are directly employed while another two million indirectly earn their livelihoods from it.

At least 14 people were on Tuesday killed and more than 50 others injured when a series of explosions rocked an oil tanker that was being dismantled at a ship-breaking yard in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province.

The fate at least 30 workers remains unknown following the explosions at the Gadani shipbreaking yard, where more than 100 people were working on the 8-foot-high ship at the time.

Police and rescue officials said at least 14 bodies have been recovered. “We are not sure how many workers were inside the tanker when the explosions occurred, but the number is said to be around 100,” area SSP Raja Ashfaq said.

Deputy General Secretary of the National Trade Union Federation Nasir Mansoor said there could be up to 200 workers trapped inside the tanker. “We are trying to get the figures.”

Gadani is world’s third—largest shipbreaking centres — after Alang and Mumbai — where more than 15,000 workers are directly employed while another two million indirectly earn their livelihoods from it.

Mr. Ashfaq said the injured had been shifted to hospitals in Karachi. He said most of the dead where those workers who had tried to jump into the sea and drowned or were burnt alive.

Some workers remain trapped inside the ship and a fire engine at the scene was unsuccessful in putting out the fire, reports said.

Naval fire engines and a helicopter reached the site this evening to help in rescue operations.

“The rescue work is taking time because the ship is big and the flames have engulfed it from inside and small explosions can be heard taking place,” the SSP said.

About eight explosions occurred in the oil-tanker due to gas-welding work, and more explosions were feared.

A loud blast rocked a ship docked in the shipbreaking yard, setting the ship on fire. More than 25 people have been rescued, an official of Edhi Trust welfare foundation said.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

Sharif also ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The Edhi Trust official said the death toll is feared to could go up.
At least 14 people are killed and 59 burned when a gas cylinder explosion aboard an oil tanker causes a major fire at the ship-breaking yard in Gadani in Pakistan's Balochistan Province. Dozens other workers remain missing as many injured are transferred to hospitals in nearby Karachi.