Occupational hazard: Factory worker dies in loading accident

HARIPUR: A factory worker was killed in a biscuit manufacturing unit in Hattar Economic Zone (HEZ) Wednesday morning. Police quoted Saddam Hasan — a worker at Kims Biscuit factory — as saying his younger brother, Zubair Hasan, 32, son of Hasan Akhtar was killed under the weight of cartons of biscuits and other edible items he was loading on to a truck. He said the rope of the lifter that was being used to load factory consignment on a truck, snapped and all the cartons attached to the rope fell on Zubair. According to Saddam, since the luggage was very heavy and fell on Zubair’s head, he died instantly. The deceased was shifted to Women and Children Hospital Haripur where doctors conducted his autopsy. Meanwhile, Qamar Hayat who works for the rights of industrial workers criticised HEZ for poor safety arrangements. He said owing to the absence of proper safety measures at the factories of HEZ, lives of thousands of workers remain at risk. This he said was despite the fact labour laws require industrialists to ensure proper safety of employees at the workplace.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th,  2016.