Daily Times

KARACHI: All three fact-finding teams formed to probe the Askari Amusement Park accident have put the entire burden on the shoulders of the operator of the ride, ignoring the negligence of the contractor and lack of oversight by the administration, Daily Times has learnt.

The teams were formed to fix responsibility for the accident on July 14 in which 14-year-old Kashaf Dukhtar died and 16 others were injured. One of the teams included three technical officials at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the administrative team of six officers was led by the District East deputy commmissioner, Muhammad Ahamd Siddique, and the third report was prepared by a private consultant, an engineering professor at the NED University of Engineering and Technology.

A copy of report available with Daily Times shows that neither the contractor, identified as Zubair Tufail, nor the management of the park, Engineering Corp of the Pakistan Army, were investigated by the teams.

The report has identified that there was no mechanism at the disposal of the KMC, the owner of the land on which the park was established, to regularly inspect the rides for safety. Further, the reports have not dwelled upon the cause of death of the child and injuries of the 16 other riders.

The report states that the ride, installed on a trial basis, was not brand new at the time of installation, highlights that the quality of welding of flanges and bolts was poor. It notes that the accident was caused by the breaking apart of these parts. Further, the report says operational staff lacked requisitine qualifications, but was hired on the basis of their past experience.

The recommendations mentioned in the report are not related to the facts of the matter and are generic in nature. In recommendations section, the report suggests the park management to regularly check fitness and safety of rides and ensure timely maintenance through a daily preventive maintenance schedule, and periodic audits of maintenance. It suggests that operation logbooks must be maintained and qualified personnel hired to oversee operations.

The only document submitted with the investigators by the operator is a four-page computer generated manual in Chinese language, with English translations of the brief introduction to the ride, its operation guides and precautions.

The import documents do not have the name of the manufacturer of the Fly Turtle Amusement Ride. The company identified by the operator during investigation does not contain the name of the ride in its product list, states the report. There is no information about dimensions of the main bracket of the ride, the material of the bracket, and the procedure to connect different parts of the rides and install electric motors and other electrical accessories including hydraulic system, pneumatic system, ride control equipment, electrical requirements, fire protection and safety clearance.

Besides, the documents also not mention if tests for unbalanced, partial and full load were carried out before installing the ride. It also misses out on the procedure of dealing and measuring abnormal noise.

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.