KARACHI, Pakistan — Fires swept through two clothing factories in Pakistan, leaving at least 283 people dead — many trapped behind locked doors and barred windows — highlighting the atrocious working conditions in a country where workplaces often lack basic safety equipment and owners bribe officials to ignore the violations.
The twin blazes broke out Tuesday night at a garment factory in the southern port city of Karachi and a shoe manufacturer in the eastern city of Lahore. At least 258 people died in the fire in Karachi, where workers were searching Wednesday for bodies in the charred building. Another 25 died in Lahore.
Panicked workers in Karachi had only one way out because the factory’s owner had locked all the other exit doors in response to a recent theft, officials said. Many victims suffocated in the smoke-filled basement.
“The owner of the factory should also be burned to death the way our dear ones have died in a miserable condition,” said Nizam-ud-Din, whose nephew was killed in the fire, one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Pakistani history.
Police were searching for the factory’s managers and placed the owner on a list of people who are not allowed to leave the country, said Roshan Ali Sheikh, a top government official in Karachi.
The fire started when a boiler exploded and the flames ignited chemicals that were stored in the factory, which manufactured jeans and other clothes for export. Between 300 and 400 workers were inside when the blaze erupted.
Many of the deaths were caused by suffocation as people trapped in the basement were unable to escape when it filled with smoke, said Karachi fire chief Ehtisham-ud-Din.
Those on the upper floors of the five-story building had to break through metal bars on the windows so they could leap to safety. Dozens were injured, including a 27-year-old pregnant woman.
The fire in the four-story shoe factory in Lahore left 25 people dead, some from burns and others from suffocation, said senior police officer Multan Khan.
The fire broke out as workers were trying to start a generator after electricity went out in the building. Sparks from the generator made contact with chemicals used to make shoes, igniting the blaze, which blocked the only exit. Firefighters had to break through the building’s brick walls to save people, officials said.
