KARACHI: A Pakistani marine engineer went missing after a fire broke out aboard the vessel Al Kya near an Omani port, leaving his family seeking urgent assistance from Pakistani and Omani authorities on Sunday. According to his family, Hammad Obaidah, a Karachi resident serving as the ship’s third engineer, left the city to join the vessel on September 6. The family said a fire erupted aboard Al Kya on September 13, severely affecting the engine room and other sections of the vessel. Twenty-five crew members were reportedly aboard the ship when the incident occurred. Rescuers saved 23 people, while Obaidah remains unaccounted for.
Engineer Was Reportedly on Night Duty During Fire
Obaidah’s family said he was performing night duty inside the engine room when the blaze erupted. Moreover, crew members reportedly told the family that survival chances for anyone trapped inside the engine room during the fire were extremely low.
However, authorities have neither confirmed Obaidah’s death nor established that he survived the incident.
Consequently, his fate remains uncertain two days after the fire.
Family Appeals to Pakistani Authorities for Assistance
The family contacted Pakistan’s Foreign Office and the Maritime Security Agency’s crisis management cell seeking information about Obaidah; though without success. The family has now urged the Pakistani government and relevant institutions to coordinate directly with Omani authorities and intensify efforts to determine what happened to him. Furthermore, relatives requested authorities to recover and repatriate Obaidah’s body if investigators establish that he died in the fire. The precise cause of the blaze and the full extent of damage to Al Kya also remained unclear based on information provided by the family.
