Workplace safety: Five labourers killed in garments factory fire
The victims had worked in a garments unit in Mian Plaza, Johar Town
A Rescue 1122 official said that the fire had broken out at the third floor of Mian Plaza, located near Allah Hu Chowk. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
LAHORE:
Five labourers died and another was injured in a fire that broke out at a garment manufacturing unit in Johar Town late on Friday.
A Rescue 1122 official said that the fire had broken out at the third floor of Mian Plaza, located near Allah Hu Chowk. “The fire started at a hosiery unit on the third floor of Mian Plaza. It spread quickly, producing black smoke that filled the floor,” he said. He said that a lift was used to reach the floor. “We put out the fire in two hours. We found three bodies and three injured people on the site,” he said.
He said that the injured were taken to Jinnah Hospital. “Two of the injured were latter pronounced dead by doctors,” he said. All the deaths occurred due to suffocation, he said.
The victims were identified as Qadir Bakhsh, Naveed, Ghulam Abbas, Zafar and Tanveer, all residents of Sargodha. The injured worker was identified as Anwar.
Ramazan, a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said that they were closing down when he first saw smoke coming out of the plaza. “Heavy smoke was pouring out of the windows,” he said.
Sub-Inspector Arshad from Model Town station said that they had not registered an FIR so far. “The families of the deceased have refused to initiate legal action,” he said.
Arshad said that the cause of the fire was not apparent.
SI Arif said that there were no other people in the plaza at the time. “These workers were from Sargodha. They had been living at the plaza,” he said. He said Anwar, the injured labourer, had been discharged from hospital after treatment.
Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar took notice of the incident and ordered District Labor Officer Syed Hasanat Javed to submit an inquiry report. The labour officer said that the government would direct the factory owner to allocate Rs400,000 each for the families of the victims.
On November 4, 45 workers had died and 103 were injured when the roof of a four-storey factory collapsed. On November 9, five workers had died at a steel mill in Hadira when an oil tank caught fire. On November 24, more than 150 people, including labourers, had to be hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak at a cold-storage in Badami Bagh.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2015.
Five labourers died and another was injured in a fire that broke out at a garment manufacturing unit in Johar Town late on Friday.
A Rescue 1122 official said that the fire had broken out at the third floor of Mian Plaza, located near Allah Hu Chowk. “The fire started at a hosiery unit on the third floor of Mian Plaza. It spread quickly, producing black smoke that filled the floor,” he said. He said that a lift was used to reach the floor. “We put out the fire in two hours. We found three bodies and three injured people on the site,” he said.
He said that the injured were taken to Jinnah Hospital. “Two of the injured were latter pronounced dead by doctors,” he said. All the deaths occurred due to suffocation, he said.
The victims were identified as Qadir Bakhsh, Naveed, Ghulam Abbas, Zafar and Tanveer, all residents of Sargodha. The injured worker was identified as Anwar.
Ramazan, a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said that they were closing down when he first saw smoke coming out of the plaza. “Heavy smoke was pouring out of the windows,” he said.
Sub-Inspector Arshad from Model Town station said that they had not registered an FIR so far. “The families of the deceased have refused to initiate legal action,” he said.
Arshad said that the cause of the fire was not apparent.
SI Arif said that there were no other people in the plaza at the time. “These workers were from Sargodha. They had been living at the plaza,” he said. He said Anwar, the injured labourer, had been discharged from hospital after treatment.
Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar took notice of the incident and ordered District Labor Officer Syed Hasanat Javed to submit an inquiry report. The labour officer said that the government would direct the factory owner to allocate Rs400,000 each for the families of the victims.
On November 4, 45 workers had died and 103 were injured when the roof of a four-storey factory collapsed. On November 9, five workers had died at a steel mill in Hadira when an oil tank caught fire. On November 24, more than 150 people, including labourers, had to be hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak at a cold-storage in Badami Bagh.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2015.