Summary Fire erupts in a garment factory in New Karachi Industrial Area on Tuesday morning.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Fire erupted in a garment factory in Sector 16 of New Karachi Industrial Area on early Tuesday morning, Dunya News reported. Cloth worth millions was razed because of the sudden incident of factory fire. The first two fire engines reached the site soon after being informed. The fire crew tried to control the blaze while the workers escaped the building but because the fire intensified, six more fire engines were called on site. The fire was finally tended in about three hours. Production material worth millions was destroyed because the factory was not equipped to extinguish the fire. However, no loss of human life has been reported. According to the media reports, short circuit was the cause of fire.
Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan and is referred as the financial heart of the country. It accounts for a lion’s share of Pakistan’s revenue generation. It generates approximately 53.38% of the total collections of the Federal Board of Revenue, out of which 53.33% are customs duty and sales tax on imports. Karachi produces about 30 percent of value added in large scale manufacturing and 20% of the GDP of Pakistan. The major industries of Karachi are Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Steel and Automobiles. Despite being the commercial hub of the country, security measures in most of the factories have been compromised according to the analysts.
A private garment factory caught fire in Karachi in September 2012 when a boiler exploded and the flames ignited chemicals that were stored in the factory. Between 300 and 400 workers were inside the factory when the blaze erupted. Officials said that all the exit doors in the factory were locked and many of the windows of the factory were covered with iron bars, which made it difficult for workers to escape at the time of the fire and consequently many of the deaths were caused by suffocation. The fire is considered to be the most deadly and worst industrial factory fires in Pakistan's history, killing 257 people and seriously injuring more than 600.
