More than 300 killed in factory fire in Pakistan
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- Created on Thursday, 13 September 2012 11:13
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Two factory fires in Pakistan have killed more than 300 workers. As per the Pakistani Daily “the Nation” 289 people have been killed in the garment factory fire in Karachi. Officials fear for more deaths as more than hundred workers are believed to be trapped in the basement of the factory. The fire has taken just hours after 25 died at a shoe factory in Lahore.
The newspaper said that the fatal inferno, unprecedented in country’s recent history, in Baldia Town’s SITE industrial engulfed all the four storeys and the basement, where most of the people died. The huge death toll was mainly caused by improper and delayed rescue operation as most people died of suffocation due to dense smoke rather than burn injuries.
The paper said that buildings might collapse any time because the fire heavily damaged parts of its steel structure. The factory sources have said that between 400 and 500 people were in the factory when the fire broke out. Several trapped workers have jumped from upper floors.
The newspaper said that 289 bodies had been recovered from the towel factory but the number of casualties could increase because rescuers were still unable to get inside to the basement in which more than 100 people remain stuck inside the building.
Rescuers have said they found dozens of dead bodies in every section of the building when they succeeded to penetrate there but in some parts searing heat prevented their entry. They said most people died because they could not get to the exit points and died in search of escape route. They have said bodies of some deceased had been burnt beyond recognition.
Chief Fire Officer Ehtisham Siddique said that despite having limited resources the fire fighters are still searching every nook and corner of the factory for the potential survivors. He has said that it took more than 24 hours to extinguish the fire despite the contribution of other departments. He has said that 80 percent operation has been completed and in the basement of the factory they are still looking for the people trapped in the fire while cooling operation has been continued in the other parts of the factory comprising upon the half acre.
Doctors in Civil Hospital Karachi has said that 24 women bodies had been brought to the hospital and handed over to the families after identification. They said that at least 64 victims of the tragedy have been identified while the rest had so for not been identified because they were badly charred. Scores of bodies have been shifted to the morgues of different welfare organisations where they would be identified through DNA tests.(niz)
