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Karachi (AFP) -- More than 300 people have perished in fires that gutted factories in Pakistan's two biggest cities, officials said yesterday.

The tragedies have prompted calls for an overhaul of poor industrial safety standards in the country.

More than 280 people died in a garment factory in Karachi. It was the worst blaze in decades to hit Pakistan's biggest city, just hours after 21 died at a shoe factory in Lahore. Dozens were hurt in Karachi as they jumped out of windows from the four-storey building to escape the blaze that began on Tuesday evening.

"The death doll is 289. This is not final, search for more bodies continues," said the city police chief Iqbal Mahmood.

Abdus Salam, a doctor at Karachi's Central Hospital, said bodies were badly burnt and that at least 65 other workers suffered broken bones after jumping out of windows to escape the flames.

Karachi fire chief Roshan Salim said the rescue workers found a large group of bodies on the lower floors of the factory. He added that the fire probably originated on the ground floor, giving workers in the basement and the first level less time to escape. He also said the factory was dangerous because it had been flimsily built, lacked emergency exits and had developed cracks in the wall, which was putting rescue workers at risk.

Translation 1

By AFP
Published: September 12, 2012

LAHORE / Karachi: More than 130 people have perished in devastating fires that gutted factories in Pakistan’s two largest cities, raising fresh concerns about workplace safety, officials said Wednesday.

At least 110 people died at a garment factory in Karachi, in the worst inferno in decades to hit Pakistan’s Arabian Sea port and 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 in the four-storey building to escape the blaze that began Tuesday evening in a bid to save their lives.

Shouting and sobbing relatives of trapped workers, desperate to get inside the factory, scuffled with police overnight as rescuers battled to work through the night, an AFP photographer said.

“We have recovered 110 bodies so far and are still searching for more victims,” Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim told AFP.

“We found dozens of people dead in a large room of the factory’s basement. It was totally burnt and parts of it were smouldering, which we put out before taking the bodies to hospitals.

Abdus Salam, a doctor at Karachi’s Civil Hospital, said 10 women garment makers were among the dead.

“The bodies are badly charred,” Salam told AFP. At least 65 other workers suffered broken bones after jumping out of windows to escape the flames, he said.

Salim said firemen were searching every corner of the building despite limited resources.

He called the factory dangerous, saying it had been flimsily built, lacked emergency exits and had developed cracks in the walls, which was also putting rescue workers at risk.

“It was packed like a box with little room left for ventilation. There were no emergency exits,” Salim said.

“We found people who died of suffocation caused by the highly toxic smoke. They died first and then their bodies were burned by the raging fire,” he said.

Salim said dozens of fire engines were scrambled to the scene of the tragedy.

“Most of the fire has been extinguished, but there it is smouldering in some parts due to the plastics and chemicals,” he said.

According to workers, the factory produced underwear and plastic utensils.

Salim said the disaster was Karachi’s “biggest fire in terms of deaths in decades”.

In January 2009, 40 people were killed, more than half of them children, when a fire engulfed dozens of wooden homes in Karachi’s impoverished Baldia neighbourhood.

Firefighters on crane lifts reached through windows of the gutted building to rescue some trapped survivors, who were taken to hospitals suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Mohammad Saleem, 32, who broke a leg after jumping out of the second floor, said he and his colleagues were hard at work late Tuesday.

“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,” Saleem told AFP.

“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.

Around 150 employees were working at the time in one of the factory’s three round-the-clock shifts, Saleem said.

Officials said the cause of the fire was unknown but Rauf Siddiqi, the industry minister for southern province Sindh of which Karachi is the capital, said the owner was under investigation for negligence.

“We have ordered an inquiry into how the fire erupted and why proper emergency exits were not provided at the factory so that the workers could escape,” Siddiqi said.

In Lahore, flames also trapped dozens of workers in a shoe-making factory, killing 21 and injuring 14 others, local officials and medics said.

Tariq Zaman, a government official, blamed the blaze on a faulty generator.

Karamat Ali, an emergency rescue spokesman, said fire crews succeeded in bringing the blaze under control after several hours and rescue workers had evacuated all those trapped inside the factory.The garment trade is vital to Pakistan’s shaky economy.

According to central bank data, the textiles industry contributed to 7.4 percent of Pakistan’s GDP in 2011 and employed 38 percent of the manufacturing sector workforce. It accounted for 55.6 percent of total exports.

Agencies | 12th September, 2012

KARACHI: The death toll from a garment factory fire in Karachi’s SITE area rose to 289 as more bodies were recovered from the gutted building, the city’s top administration official said Wednesday.

“The death toll is 289. This is not final, search for more bodies continues,” commissioner Karachi Roshan Shaikh told AFP.

Karachi city’s police chief Iqbal Mahmood also said rescue teams were still trying to gain access to parts of the factory, which caught fire late on Tuesday, and the death toll could rise.

“We found dozens of people dead in a large room of the factory’s basement. It was totally burnt and parts of it were smouldering, which we put out before shifting the bodies to hospitals,” Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim told AFP.

“Our firemen are searching every nook and corner of the factory despite having limited resources to cope with such a grave situation,” Salim said.

He added that the blaze was Karachi’s “biggest fire in terms of deaths in decades”.

Factory workers said that they made plastic utensils and under garments.

The death toll was revised sharply upwards after police earlier said the fire, which erupted late Tuesday, had killed nine workers.

Some shouting and sobbing relatives of trapped workers, desperate to get inside the building, scuffled with police during the night, an AFP photographer said.

Rescuers used arc lights to work through the night. A steady stream of bodies were stretchered out, covered by white sheets.

Abdus Salam, a doctor at Karachi’s Civil Hospital, said 10 women were among the dead garment workers.

“The bodies are badly charred,” Salam told AFP, adding that at least 65 other workers had suffered broken bones after jumping out of windows to escape the fire.

Firefighters on crane lifts reached through the gutted building’s windows to rescue some trapped survivors, who were taken to local hospitals suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

The blaze was still smouldering early on Wednesday.

Mohammad Saleem, 32, who broke a leg after jumping out of the second floor, said he and his colleagues were hard at work late on Tuesday when flames suddenly reached their section.

“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,” 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.

Officials said the cause of the Karachi fire was not yet known but Rauf Siddiqui, the industry minister for Sindh province, said the factory owner was under investigation for negligence.

“We have ordered an inquiry into how the fire erupted and why proper emergency exits were not provided at the factory so that the workers could escape,” Siddiqui said.

According to DawnNews, Interior Minister Rehman Malik directed IG Sindh to investigate the incident and include the name of factory’s owner in the Exit Control List (ECL).

Earlier on Tuesday, at least 21 people were killed at a shoe factory in Lahore.

The fires could raise fresh questions about Pakistan’s industrial safety.

Critics say the government is too corrupt and ineffective to tackle an array of problems, from struggling industries to suicide bombings in the South Asian nation.