Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported

Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on May 4, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Rescue 1122)
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Updated 04 May 2024
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Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported

Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported
  • The biggest Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually
  • In November last year, a blaze at a shopping mall in Karachi killed around a dozen people and injured several others

KARACHI: A fire broke out at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Saturday, rescue officials said.

The blaze erupted on the ground floor of the garment factory in Zarina Colony in the New Karachi area, according to Rescue 1122 service.

“One fire truck is actively participating in the operation,” a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding that another fire tender has been called to the site.

No loss of life has been reported in the wake of the fire.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country. 

The megapolis, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually.

In Nov., a blaze at a shopping mall killed around a dozen people and injured several others. In April last year, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out at a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021. 

In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.