KARACHI — Factory blazes in two of Pakistan’s major cities killed 85 people and injured dozens more Tuesday, including some who leapt from the burning buildings to escape the flames.
The deadliest blaze occurred in the southern port city of Karachi. At least 60 people were killed when the fire broke out at a garment factory.
The head of the emergency department at the Civil Hospital in Karachi, Tariq Kamal Ayubi, said Wednesday morning that many of the bodies were so badly burned that it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
The other fire, at a shoe factory in the city of Lahore, killed 25 people, said police officer Multan Khan.
Three people were also injured in the blaze, Khan said. Some of the dead had succumbed to suffocation, while others were burned alive when flames touched off chemicals in the building that are used to make the shoes, he said.
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"Death toll in Pakistani factory fires more than 300" by Salman Masood | New York Times, September 13, 2012
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — More than 300 people were killed Tuesday when fires engulfed two factories in two major cities, officials said, renewing concerns about lax building safety measures and dismal working conditions for factory workers in Pakistan.
Sounds familiar.
The fires broke out Tuesday evening and swept through a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore and a garment factory in the southern port city of Karachi.
The fire in Karachi killed at least 289 people, said government officials and rescue workers, who were still trying to retrieve bodies from the charred building Wednesday.
Roshan Ali Sheikh, the commissioner of Karachi, said the death toll is expected to rise. Dozens of bodies were thought to be inside the building, local media reported.
It's already zoomed up to 300.
About 1,500 people worked in the factory on the outskirts of Karachi, the economic hub of the country.
Officials said panicked workers were trapped inside the multistory building, which had just one exit. All the other doors had been locked, a common practice to ensure that workers do not leave the premises before their shift ends.
Officials said the fire in Lahore killed 25 people and was caused by a generator that caught fire and ignited chemicals. They said the shoe factory was set up illegally and made to look like a residential house from the outside.
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"After Pakistan fire, police probe factory owners" by ADIL JAWAD Associated Press / September 13, 2012
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police registered a murder case against the owners and managers of a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi after a fire swept through the building and killed 258 people, many of whom were unable to escape because the exit doors were locked, a senior police officer said Thursday.
The fire is being described as the deadliest industrial accident in Pakistan’s 65-year history, and highlighted the woeful safety conditions that exist at many factories around the country. Buildings regularly lack fire exits and basic safety equipment like alarms and sprinklers — violations that are rarely punished by the government.
The fact that police registered a case against the three owners of the Karachi factory and the managers who worked there does not necessarily mean they will be charged with murder. Under Pakistani law, police must register a case as the first step in an investigation. They recommend whether charges should be made once the probe is complete.
Police are investigating the factory’s owners and managers, who are still at large, because they did not follow basic safety regulations, said Amir Farooqi, a senior police officer in Karachi. Many of the exit doors were locked when the fire broke out Tuesday night, and escape routes were blocked with large bundles of cloth, he said. Police are also investigating government officials who failed to enforce fire safety regulations.
The fire started when a boiler exploded and the flames ignited chemicals that were stored in the factory, which manufactured jeans and other clothes for export. Between 300 and 400 workers were inside when the blaze erupted.
For which companies?
‘‘Hundreds saw hell on earth,’’ said a banner headline across the top of Pakistan’s leading English-language newspaper, Dawn, on Thursday.
Grieving relatives held scores of funerals across Karachi on Thursday. Many of the victims’ bodies were recovered Wednesday once firefighters successfully put out the blaze and were able to enter parts of the factory that had been inaccessible, especially the basement, where many died of suffocation when it filled with smoke....
The owners locked the exit doors in response to a recent theft, several victims’ relatives have said....
Also Tuesday night, a fire broke out at a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 25 people. The fire started when workers tried to start a generator after the electricity went out, and sparks ignited chemicals used to make shoes. The blaze blocked the only exit, and firefighters had to break through the building’s walls to save people.
‘‘The tragedy that began to unfold on Tuesday has taken the entire country in an asphyxiating grip of grief mixed with rage,’’ said an editorial in Dawn, the newspaper. ‘‘Questions, though belated, are being asked about the non-implementation of safety standards and the massive corruption in government ranks which led to such flagrant violations of the law.’’
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That's New York Times version the Globe's website gave you.
‘‘The owners of the garment factory should be arrested and hanged as quickly as possible,’’ said Zaitoon Bibi, who lost her son in the fire. ‘‘I do not think I will get justice as these owners are powerful and rich.’’
They are out on bail.
