A fire has engulfed a chemical factory in Pakistan’s Karachi city, killing a minimum of 15 workers, officials say.
The fire broke out inside the factory in Mehran Town, a congested Karachi neighbourhood, rescue official Mobeen Ahmed said on Friday.
At least 15 bodies are retrieved from the rubble of a building that partially collapsed, but a operation remains under way, Ahmed said.
More than 20 labourers were inside the compound when a highly flammable chemical caught fire. It spread to the whole building shortly afterwards.
It was not immediately clear what caused the hearth . TV footage showed firefighters dousing the flames, as ambulances continued transporting victims to a government hospital.
Murtaza Wahab, a spokesman for the provincial government, told reporters that the hearth fighters had almost extinguished the fire. He said officers had been asked to research the cause and would also check whether the owner had installed fire extinguishing equipment.
Karachi is that the capital of Sindh province, where many of us have found out factories in residential areas in violation of building codes.
In 2015, a minimum of 30 people were killed when a factory collapsed within the city.
More than 250 labourers were killed when a fireplace broke out at a garment factory in Karachi in 2012.
That incident drew global outrage because the factory was supplying products to global chains, including German retailer KiK.