As the city continued receiving monsoon showers, the death toll in a garment factory fire in Baldia Town has so far risen to 289, raising doubts about the workers’ safety and the apathy of authorities concerned to tackle emergency situations in the metropolis.
A representative of the rescue authorities told Pakistan Today that majority of those who were engulfed in the raging fire had lost their lives in the incident that took place on Tuesday evening.
As the fire raged, the rescue teams rated it of third degree intensity and called all the water carriers of the fire brigade to douse it, to which purpose they finally succeeded after many hours of hectic efforts.
Meanwhile, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has announced that it will bear all the expenses for the burial of the deceased in the incident.
This was announced by KMC Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed while talking to media representatives during the monitoring of rescue operation on Wednesday.
He said the graves were already being prepared in different graveyards of the city and the families of the deceased were asked to contact with the staff of KMC which had been issued with the directives to provide them with all facilities without any cost.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed has said that at least 80 dead bodies were taken to Civil Hospital Karachi, 95 to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and some 71 were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate and Medical Center (JPMC).
A doctor at Civil Hospital Karachi said more than 10 women workers were also among the dead. The bodies were badly charred and burnt while the dead bodies of more than 70 factory workers had fractured bones as they made frantic efforts to save their lives and jumped from second and third floors of the factory.
The Chief Fire Officer of the fire brigade Ehtishamuddin Saleem said that his team members were searching out every inch of the factory building despite limited resources.
The official termed the building as dangerous and built against the rules and regulation as it did not have any safety measures or exit points. More than 1,000 workers were working in the congested building having only one main gate for both entry and exit. The clouds of danger also looms on the rescue workers as the building could fall at any time as it has developed multiple cracks due to deadly fire and the dampness caused by the water used to douse the fires, he added.
“We also 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, adding the fire had been doused. However there was smoke coming out from some parts of the factory due to presence of highly toxic chemicals, he added.
Metropolitan Commissioner Matanat Ali Khan and other officers accompanied the Administrator Karachi on this occasion. Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed said fire in the garments factory was a national tragedy and it was unfortunate that such a huge number of deaths occurred.
He said medical and other facilities were provided to the affectees and injured in that incident.
Administrator Karachi said the fire brigade vehicles had reached the fire site after receiving the information within ten minutes. Due to the intensity of fire the fire brigade and its all three snorkels along with other fire tenders from Pakistan Navy, KPT, CAA and Pakistan Railways were called at the fire site to control the fire. He said that the firefighters and rescue teams of KMC were, however, still carrying out operation and it would continue till the completion of rescue work.
He said all the resources were being incorporated in this operation. However the rescue teams were facing difficulties due to the heat in the basement of the building.
The KMC Administrator said that the fire brigade and rescue workers rescued more than 35 people by cutting the iron grills on windows whereas the injured were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Murshid Hospital for treatment. He said the rescue staff had been performing its duties non-stop since the last 24 hours.
Azam Khan, 28, who jumped from the third floor of the building, said that the fire was horrific, and it engulfed the entire floor in just seconds compelling the workers to run amuck to save their lives. “We broke the iron grills and jumped out,” he said.
“I fell on the ground which was extremely painful. I saw many people jumping out of windows and crying in pain for help,” he said.
While speaking to newsmen at the fire site, Commissioner Karachi Roshan Ali Skeikh said the condition of the factory had deteriorated to such a point that it could collapse at any moment. Roshan added that the investigation report of the incident would be completed in three days.
Sindh Minister for Commerce and Industries Rauf Siddiqi told Pakistan Today that the Site Ltd had cancelled the allotment of M/s Abdul Aziz Ali Mohammad Limited while putting the owner’s name in the Exit Control List (ECL).
The factory owner has also been fined Rs 500,000 each to those who lost their lives and Rs 200,000 to each of those who were injured. “If the owners did not pay the fine to the affectees, I will personally sell the factory land and distribute the amount among the affected people. The owner was under investigation for negligence and strict action would also be taken to check workers’ safety situation at other factories.
Raging fire leaves Karachiites mourning for 289 lives
