KARACHI: More than 310 people have perished in fires that gutted factories in PakistanÂ’s two largest cities, in tragedies that prompted calls for an overhaul of poor industrial safety standards, officials said yesterday.At least 280 people died at a garment factory in Karachi, in the worst blaze in decades to hit PakistanÂ’s biggest city, just hours after 21 died at a shoe factory in Lahore, close to the Indian border.
Dozens of others were hurt in Karachi as they jumped out of windows from the four-story building to escape the blaze that began Tuesday evening in a bid to save their lives, as sobbing relatives of trapped workers scuffled with police overnight.
“Our firefighters are finding bodies in greater numbers from the lower floors of the factory,” Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim said. “We didn’t find bodies in ones or twos, but in the dozens, which is why the death toll is increasing so alarmingly."
Salim said the fire probably originated on the ground floor, giving those workers in the basement and on that level less time to escape.
Abdus Salam, a doctor at KarachiÂ’s Civil Hospital, said at least 65 workers suffered broken bones after jumping out of windows. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he had ordered an inquiry into both fires, as officials said the factory in Karachi in particular had been flimsily built, lacked emergency exits and had developed cracks in the walls.
“It was packed like a box with little room left for ventilation. There were no emergency exits,” Salim said.
According to workers, the factory produced underwear and plastic utensils.