100 dead, 50 injured in Karachi garment factory fire

Nearly 100 people have been killed and 50 others injured, some of them who jumped out of windows to save their lives, in a deadly fire in a three-storey garment factory in Pakistan's financial hub Karachi.

The fire broke out on the second floor of the building in the Baldia town area of the city on Tuesday evening. Around 35 fire tenders with dozens of firefighters were still trying to control the blaze till the filing of this report.

"The fire has been brought under control to a large extent but there are more people trapped inside the building right now particularly in the basement and we fear the building might also collapse eventually due to the damage caused by the fire," chief fire officer Ehtishamuddin told PTI.

The officer said over 100 people, including five women, were burnt to death and the toll is likely to rise. He said the fire appeared to have been caused by short circuit due to the heavy rainfall but the real reason would only been known once the fire was brought under control.

"The casualties have occurred mainly because there was one entry and exit point in the building. We had to use a snorkel to rescue people who had taken refuge on the roof of the building," he added.

The chief fire officer said there were bodies lying inside the building which were being recovered but rescue operations were taking time due to blaze and heat.