Story highlights Unused oil tanker explodes as workers dismantle it

Gadani is one of the largest ship breaking yards in the world

Quetta, Pakistan (CNN) At least 17 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.

Several 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. Shah said more than 40 people were injured in the blasts, which rocked the town of Gadani, about 30 miles northwest of Karachi.

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

An explosion on board a tanker at Gadani shipbreaking yard in Pakistan has left at least six people deadhttps://t.co/t0L4c0AxjT pic.twitter.com/Fingv3kacx — Port Technology Int (@PortTechnology) November 1, 2016

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