A First Information Report registered in the case of a chemical factory which caught fire on Friday has revealed details of the gruesome working conditions for the labourers.
The deadly blaze at a factory located in Korangi Industrial Area, Mehran Town in Karachi claimed the lives of 16 labourers a day earlier, raising questions about industrial safety.
According to Geo News, Factory owner Ali Mehta, manager Imran Zaidi, two supervisors Zafar and Rehan and watchman Syed Zarin have been named in the FIR registered at the Korangi Industrial Area police station. The case has been registered under Sections 34 and Section 322 for the deaths of the workers.
The FIR revealed that there was no emergency exit in case of an unfortunate incident and there was only one way out of the facility.
It stated that there was no alarm system in the factory either and that the janitor was asked to open the lock. The building was constructed in such a way that no one could get out in an emergency, it added.
None of the people nominated in the FIR have been arrested so far.
The fire brigade spokesperson had declared the blaze a “third-degree” fire because of the toxic chemical inside the factory.
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.
Media footage showed thick grey smoke billowing out from the top floors of the factory.
“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,” Geo News Mubeen Ahmed, chief fire officer of the fire department, as saying.
Over 260 workers were burnt alive when a multi-storey garment factory was set on fire in September 2012 in what became the deadliest industrial blaze in Pakistan’s history.
Blazes and accidents are common in South Asia’s factories, many of which operate illegally and without proper fire safety measures.
