Once a thriving industry, years of economic decline have turned Pakistan's Gadani beach from a lifeline to the site of the nation's now-dying ship-breaking industry.

Hard economic times have led most ships in the direction of neighbouring India and Bangladesh, where every piece of scrap metal and steel is salvaged.

The Pakistanis who are still employed in the ship-breaking industry work for months at a time on a single vessel without protective gear to guard from the smoke and heavy materials they work around, with the nearest hospital over 50 kilometres away.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reports from Baluchistan.