Pakistan factory fires kill 85

Source: AP

Factory fires have broken out in two major cities in Pakistan, killing 85 people and injuring dozens more, including some who had to break through barred windows and leap to the ground to escape the flames.

Workers recounted how their colleagues were trapped behind blocked exits, and firefighters said that one reason why the blazes were so deadly is that the buildings a shoe factory in the eastern city of Lahore and a garment factory in the southern port of Karachi lacked clear escape routes.

Such safety issues are common throughout Pakistan, where buildings also lack emergency equipment like alarms and sprinklers and municipal rules are rarely enforced.

The most deadly blaze came in Karachi, the country's economic heart. The head of the emergency department at the Civil Hospital in Karachi, Tariq Kamal Ayubi, said 60 bodies had been taken to the hospital so far.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/12/pakistan-factory-fires-karachi