4 firefighters killed in garment factory fire in Pakistan

Karachi, Pakistan — Four firefighters were killed and nearly a dozen injured after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, emergency officials and police said on Thursday.

The cause of the fire, which broke out at the factory Wednesday night and eventually collapsed, was not immediately known, police said. Earlier, heavy gray smoke suddenly rose from the factory. Firefighters had almost extinguished the fire when the collapse occurred.

The rescuers removed the bodies of the firefighters from the ruins of the factory.

Several fire engines were sent to the scene in an industrial area of ​​the city, where many factories are located, the authorities said. The police also assessed the impact of the fire in a neighboring building.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed grief over the deaths of the firefighters, calling them “martyrs” who died trying to save the lives of others. In a statement, he expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims.

Sharif directed the authorities to prepare a strategy to avoid such incidents in future.

Karachi is the capital of South Sindh province where such incidents are common. In August 2021, at least 10 people died in a massive fire at a chemical factory in Karachi. In the deadliest such incident in 2012, 260 people died after being trapped in a garment factory when a fire broke out.