From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: A massive blaze at a factory in the Karachi Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) near Landhi that injured eight people and damaged at least three other factories was brought under control on Thursday after hours of rescue efforts, officials said.
Fire incidents are common in the metropolis due to the absence of adequate fire safety measures in buildings.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told media: “A total of 20 fire tenders with two snorkels, five ambulances and water boozers were engaged in the fire that was controlled at 4pm.”
The rescue official detailed that they received information about the incident at 10am, following which hectic efforts remained underway till the fire was put out in the evening. However, cooling work continued.
“Some repair/construction work was also underway at the factory, whose structure ostensibly appeared to be weak,” Haseeb said. He added that eight factory workers who were removing goods, despite warnings from firemen not to do so, were injured as part of the building collapsed.
“They did not give any heed to such warnings, probably [because] they were under strict instructions from the factory management to remove the goods from it and shift the same to a safer place,” the Rescue 1122 official explained.
According to the rescue spokesperson, the factory staff told the firemen that some welding work was ongoing in the five-storey building’s basement, which triggered the fire. Further investigation into the incident was underway.
Haseeb noted: “It was a vast area and wind direction was heavy, which caused rapid spread of the fire, and resultantly, three adjoining factories also caught fire.”
While the structure of those three factories was intact, they sustained damage. However, the first building from which the fire originated was completely destroyed.
The Rescue 1122 spokesperson estimated there were 1,200 workers who worked in the said factories, and those present on the site were evacuated safely.
Haseeb said some fire tenders were dispatched initially, but realising the gravity of the problem, more fire tenders were called from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s Fire Brigade and Rescue 1122.
“The injured were taken to a nearby hospital via Edhi ambulance,” Rescue 1122 said in a statement earlier today.
Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the fire and directed officials to take immediate steps to save people on a priority basis.
He directed all fire brigades and rescue agencies to take immediate action, while Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi was tasked with a thorough inquiry into the cause.
The chief minister assured factory owners and workers affected by the incident of full assistance.
CM Shah was informed that many employees were present inside the factory when the blaze broke out, but rescue teams successfully evacuated all personnel safely.
The chief minister was informed that one individual was injured during the building collapse and issued directives to provide immediate medical aid to the victim.
