Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Death toll from Karachi factory fire soars

Death toll from Karachi factory fire soars

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The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says the fire could be the country's worst for more than 10 years

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More than 100 people are now known to have died in a fire at a factory in the Pakistan city of Karachi, officials say.
The fire broke out in the garment factory on Tuesday evening. Many other people were injured, including some who jumped from the burning building.
Some 40 firefighting vehicles were needed to tackle the blaze, an official told local media.
A fire earlier in the day at a shoe factory in Lahore killed 23 people.
The Lahore fire was attributed to a faulty electricity generator. Medical officials said some people had died of suffocation while others were burned alive as the fire took hold.
'Intense heat' In Karachi, reports said the building was still smouldering early on Wednesday.

Analysis

It is not just textile mills - industries across Pakistan are increasingly prone to disaster. Sometimes it is the collapse of poorly constructed premises - but fires remain the main danger.
In general, the problem is the same that plagues all matters of governance in Pakistan - enforcement of the law. Industrial standards are disregarded to minimise cost as inspectors are paid to look the other way.
Textile factories are particularly at risk because of the lethal combination of chemical dyes and stacks of cotton often stored next to each other - ensuring a deadly result.
Fire exits - as in the case of the factory in Karachi - exist only on paper, a factor in raising casualty figures. The city administration itself has a limited number of fire engines to serve the growing needs of an increasingly sprawling metropolis.
What is generally a small and controllable mistake is made worse by years of official disregard for workers' safety. That in turn produces such tragedies - which are then covered up, only to be repeated a few months later.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that the fire could be the country's worst for more than 10 years.
Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim said: "We found people who died because of suffocation caused by the highly toxic smoke. They died first and then their bodies were burned by the raging fire."
Workers had little time to escape from the four-storey building - many could only do so by jumping from the windows. At least 65 employees are reported to have suffered from broken bones.
As the full horror of the blaze unfolded on Tuesday night, shouting and sobbing relatives of trapped workers scuffled with police as rescuers battled to save people still thought to be trapped in the building.
Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamud Deen said that his staff were trying to rescue about 20 people trapped in the basement and on the fourth floor.
Workers spoke of panic and confusion as the fire spread.
"It was terrible, suddenly the entire floor filled with fire and smoke and the heat was so intense that we rushed towards the windows, broke its steel grille and glass and jumped out," Mohammad Saleem told AFP in hospital.
"I fell on the ground and it was extremely painful, I saw many people jumping out of windows and crying in pain for help," he said.
Speaking at the scene, Karachi official Mohammad Hussain Syed said that the scale and severity of the fire made it difficult to find and identify the dead.
"Some bodies are completely charred and cannot be recognised," he said.
"It is only possible [to identify them] through DNA tests. It was a big garment factory where lots of people were working. That's why it is difficult to assess how many have come out safely and how many failed to escape and were trapped."

Deadly fires in Pakistan

  • At least 40 people were killed when fire engulfed homes in a shanty town in Karachi in 2009
  • A blaze at a garment factory in an industrial area south of Karachi killed five people in 2007
  • A fire in a tent at a wedding party in Jhok Utra in eastern Pakistan in 2006 killed 22 women and children
  • 35 people were killed in a fire on board a Pakistan Navy ship in Karachi in 2005
"The condition of the building is very bad now."
Bodies have been taken to several different hospitals, and police are still compiling a definitive list of casualties. Police said that they feared more bodies could be inside the building.
Firefighters said that the poorly ventilated factory had no fire exits or alternative means of escape and that most of the dead had been suffocated by toxic smoke.
Officials said windows at the factory were blocked with metal grilles and that it was crammed with combustible materials including piles of clothes and chemicals.
Firefighters on crane lifts are now trying to reach through windows of the gutted building to rescue trapped survivors, all suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.
The cause of the blaze was still being investigated, police said, but workers say it too may have been caused by a faulty generator.
Garments factories across Pakistan require their own power sources because of increasingly erratic national grid electricity supplies.
The industry is critical to Pakistan's frail economy - according to central bank data, it contributed to 7.4% of Pakistan's GDP in 2011 and employed 38% of the manufacturing sector workforce, accounting for 55.6% of total exports.
Are you in Karachi? Did you witness the fire or have you been affected by it? You can send us your experiences using the form below.

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