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11 Sep 2012 Karachi & Lahore: Worst Industrial Disaster of the Country's History.
Inna Lillaah wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon!!
Shaheed Foundation
Pakistan extends its heartfelt condolences to the families of victims of
the greatest industrial disaster of Pakistan 's history . On the night
of 11th september horrible fires broke out at two factories located in
Karachi and Lahore respectively burning alive some nearly 300 people .
Inna Lillaah wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon. May Allaah rest the souls of
deceased in Jannatul Firdous and grant patience and forebearance to the
families of the victim.
Some survivors of Karachi tragedy
narrated that it started off with electricity going off and followed by
four to five small blasts,when the inmates ran for lives the doors of
exit were found closed which are usually open in routine.
Moving
emotional scenes were witnessed as the relatives converged at the site
of fire in a bid to rescue loved ones and in the search for bodies that
followed as some of survivors kept calling for rescue helplessly while
the rescue teams found it hard to reach out to the victims for the lack
of proper equipments .
Commissioner karachi Mr. Roshan Ali Najafi
on the other hand was quoted as saying that the capacity of mortuaries
was found wanting as more and more bodies kept coming in amid post-fire
rescue activities.
Although it is too early to suggest any
possible mal intent behind this tragedy but such a statement arouses
suspicions as it is not the first time that such a tragedy has taken
place ,with the memories of Tahir plaza fire,PNSC building fire, baldya
fire,boulton market fire and KFC fire still fresh in the minds of all
and sundry.
It is a welcome step that the names of owners have
been put on exit control list to facilitate probe of any criminal
negligence or engineered stunt to claim insurance . But it will not be
out of place to mention that the way EHS standards and Labour related
regulations are brazenly flouted in this beloved land in Pakistan's
industry in general barring a few law abiding businesses .
The enormity of the tragedy that
consumed at least 258 workers, including a number of women, on Tuesday
evening unfolded on Wednesday morning, when firefighters tore down an
outer wall of the three-storey-plus basement building to take out the
bodies, mostly charred beyond recognition.
The Sindh High Court chief justice has sought a report from the law-enforcement agencies and civic bodies on the tragedy.
Police
in Karachi have registered a murder case against the owners of a
garment factory . A case has been filed against Abdul Aziz, Mohammad
Arshad and Shahid
Bhaila and other members of the management of Ali Enterprises, Mohammad
Nawaz Gondal, the head of the local police station.
Public transport was suspended and schools and colleges closed.
Factories and markets also shut while attendance at offices was thin.
Relatives spent a second day at hospitals, desperate for news of
their loved ones, breaking into wails and sobs when medics confirmed the
identity of yet another body.
With so many burnt beyond recognition, only 140 of the dead had been
identified by Thursday morning, some by DNA, and 115 bodies handed back
to families for burial, city police chief Iqbal Mehmood.
Even 36 hours after the disaster began, several families still
gathered outside the gutted factory hoping for news of their loved ones.
Just a few fire tenders were still working.
There was thick smoke in the basement and it was still too hot to go
inside, where boiling water formed a pool after firefighters spent hours
hosing the flaming building.
Ambulances continued to ply back and forth to the factory, even as funeral prayers for some of the dead had already begun.
The government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is capital, has
appointed a retired judge to lead an investigation into the fire, with
initial findings expected in a week.
It is imperative that the authorities concerned should ensure proper
compliance of EHS standards to avert any recurrence of the tragedy.
In this hour of sorrow ,we stand shoulder to shoulder with the nation and the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy.
Please recite a fateha for all the deceased victims of this tragedy .
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