Twin Fires in Pakistan Lead to Deaths

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DISASTER \\ In September, Pakistan faced one of its worst industrial disasters till date when a garments factory caught fire and was gutted. The death toll rose to 259 leading to the government registering a case of murder against its owner and manager of the Karachi factory—Ali Enterprises, his two sons and managers at three-storey garments factory. On the same day of the Karachi fire, 25 people were also killed in a fire at a shoe factory in Lahore. Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik gave a twist to the country’s worst industrial disasters by calling them an ‘act of terrorism’. The bigger fire started in the garments factory in Karachi’s Baldia town. Evidence suggests that the fire started because of a generator malfunction or short circuiting. The owners, who have obtained preventive bail until 21 September, 2012, also recorded their statements with the police. Till date only 177 of the dead bodies have been identified, including 23 women. Sindh police surgeon, Kamaluddin Sheikh, said around 600 people were in the factory when the fire broke out and many managed to escape with minor injuries or were rescued later.

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