At least 191 killed in two factory fires today

At least 191 people have been killed in two devastating factory fires in Pakistan.  Senior government official Roshnan Ali Sheikh told the AP news agency that a fire at a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi has killed 166 people, with number of deaths expected to rise. A separate blaze at a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore has killed 25 people.

Fire-fighter chief Ehtisham-ud-Din says most of the garment factory deaths were caused by suffocation as people caught in the basement were unable to escape.  He said he feared the factory could collapse at any time as the first floor had been gutted by the blaze.

The head of the emergency department at the city's Civil Hospital, Tariq Kamal Ayubi, said that the bodies were being taken to the hospital and many were so badly burned that it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female.  Local resident Mohammad Ishaq, who witnessed the blaze, said some people fell from the top floor.  "I was watching the stranded people. The fire was raging and people were falling (from the top floor). People who gathered there were trying their level best," he said.  "They put up a ladder. Some people came down the ladder. Others fell."

The other fire, at a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore, killed 25 people. The factory is thought to have been illegally set up in a residential part of the city.  It broke out when people in the building were trying to start their generator after the electricity went out.  Sparks from the generator made contact with chemicals used to make the shoes, igniting the blaze. Pakistan faces widespread blackouts, and many people use generators to provide electricity for their houses or to run businesses.

A fire-fighter at the scene, Mr Numan Noor, said the reason most of the victims died was because the main escape route was blocked.  "The people went to the back side of the building but there was no access, so we had to make forceful entries and ... rescue the people," he said.

CRS says that fires are preventable.  We say that organisations must prepare emergency plans to be used if prevention measures fail.  CRS MD Stephen Asbury praises the NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate training course.  “In just five days, the NEBOSH Fire Certificate makes it clear to candidates what needs to be done on the prevention side and on the response side.  The written exam and the practical assessment, which is done in candidates own workplaces, demonstrates their knowledge and skills”.

Further information on the fire in Pakistan is available on video at http://uk.news.yahoo.com/dozens-killed-pakistan-factory-fires-041742221.html