Of the total 500 workers employed, 5 were on the night shift at the Esa Textile factory in Karachi when the fire broke out. According to eyewitnesses, firefighters had difficulty accessing the fire and were forced to break down walls and smash windows to extinguish the fire. Factory windows had been illegally covered with cement blocks and iron bars, much like at Ali Enterprises where a fire killed 260 workers in 2012.
IndustriALL Global Union regional secretary Apoorva Kaiwar says that the fire highlights the poor level of workplace safety in Pakistan’s garment and textile factories.
The government must immediately take preventive measures to improve safe working conditions in factories across the country. Workers must be able to go to work and earn a living without risking their lives.