At least 16 people were killed in a factory fire on Friday in Pakistan’s largest city and financial hub, Karachi, raising questions about the industrial safety in a country not new to such accidents.
The fire broke out at a multi-storey chemical factory in eastern part of the city, and most windows of the factory were blocked, police and fire officials said. Many factory workers died after being trapped on the second floor in the fire, which broke out on the ground floor of the three-storey factory.
“At least 16 people have died in the fire,” Saqib Ismail Memon, deputy inspector general of Karachi’s eastern part, told Reuters. “The factory had only one entry point, which was also being used as exit, and the roof exit was blocked, which badly hampered rescue efforts,” Mubeen Ahmed, chief fire officer of the fire department, told a Geo, a private television channel.