Fires engulf factories in two Pakistan cities

Factory fires that broke out in two major cities in Pakistan have killed at least 80 people and injured dozens more, including some who had to leap from windows to escape the flames, officials and survivors have said.

Workers recounted on Wednesday how their colleagues were trapped behind blocked exits, and firefighters said that one reason why the blazes were so deadly is that the buildings – a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore and a garment factory in the southern port of Karachi – lacked clear escape routes.

Such safety issues are common throughout Pakistan, where buildings also lack emergency equipment like alarms and sprinklers and municipal rules are rarely enforced.

The most deadly blaze came in Karachi, the country’s economic heart. The head of the emergency department at the Civil Hospital in Karachi, Tariq Kamal Ayubi, said 60 bodies had been taken to the hospital so far.

Some were so charred that it was impossible to tell if they were male or female, he said.

Pakistani television showed a video of the five-story factory with flames leaping from top-floor windows and smoke billowing into the night sky.

Firefighters could be seen pounding on the metal grates covering some of the windows and pulling out smoke-covered bodies.

Many of the workers were injured when they jumped from the burning building, said another doctor at the hospital, Karar Abbasi.

Escape blocked

Fire fighters Wednesday were still trying to subdue the deadly blaze that broke out Tuesday evening, and Farooqi said they would need a few more hours to bring it fully under control.

In Lahore, the fire swept through a four-storey shoe factory and killed 25 people, some from burns and some from suffocation, said senior police officer Multan Khan. The factory was illegally set up in a residential part of the city.

It broke out when people in the building were trying to start their generator after the electricity went out. Sparks from the generator made contact with chemicals used to make the shoes, igniting the blaze. Pakistan faces widespread blackouts, and many people use generators to provide electricity for their houses or to run businesses.

A firefighter at the scene, Numan Noor, said the reason most of the victims died was because the main escape route was blocked.

“The people went to the back side of the building but there was no access, so we had to make forceful entries and … rescue the people,” said Noor.

Firefighters broke holes in the factory’s brick walls to reach victims inside. At the morgue, bodies were lined up on a hallway floor, covered with white sheets.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Pakistani prime minister, in a statement expressed his shock and grief over the deaths in both cities.

Source: Agencies