indian garment factory fire kills 13 workers
Earlier Friday, 13 workers were killed in a fire at a suspected illegal garment factory in the outskirts of the Indian capital, when they were sleeping in the workshop.
The fire hit the ground floor of a narrow residential building on the eastern edge of New Delhi in the early hours of the morning, which was used to make fake leather jackets.
Witness Shahabudin Ali said that when the fire quickly spread to the first floor and most of the workers were sleeping, residents rushed to the factory immediately after hearing the screams of the trapped people.
\"We started to douse the fire ourselves with buckets and garden pipes,\" he said . \".
\"Two hours after the fire, fire department officials arrived at the scene.
Police confirmed 13 deaths, adding that the fire could have been caused by a short circuit or a cigarette.
\"At about 4: 30 am, a fire broke out at a factory in the sahibaad residential area.
Local police spokesman bagwatt Singh told AFP that 13 people had died sleeping there and two or three others were being treated in hospital.
Police chief Salman Taj said three of the dead were burned to death for inhaling smoke.
Residents and a local fire official said two workers survived jumping off the balcony of the building.
\"The two of them woke up by chance, saying that while running to the terrace, they screamed to wake others up, but others didn\'t wake up, maybe it was late, abbas Hussein, a local fire official, said.
Hussain described a pile of leather stacked in narrow stairs and narrow workshops in the building, adding that the factory is likely to be illegal.
\"From what we have seen, there is nothing appropriate, the factory is certainly not legal, but we can only be sure after proper investigation,\" Hussain said . \".
Police chief Taj has confirmed that two owners have been detained.
The fire is another stain on India\'s poor workplace safety record, where fatal accidents are commonplace. -
Inhuman conditions
Local residents say the maze of narrow streets of illegal factories that employ mostly low-paid migrant workers.
The burnt factory is surrounded by residential buildings on both sides and shops on the first floor.
Residents said the front of the workshop had been closed by metal grills similar to the adjacent storefront, which made it impossible for workers to escape at the beginning of the fire.
Nawaz Alam, a migrant worker in a nearby jeans workshop, said he had no choice but to work in an illegal factory.
\"Our salary is not high and we have to live an inhuman life in the factory in order to save money,\" Alam said . \".
\"I prefer to work in a suitable factory, but I can\'t find a job.
\"Last month, eight workers were killed in a huge explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, while on May 2014, a large-scale fire broke out in a fireworks and firecrackers workshop in central state, killing 15 people.
On November 2013, a fire broke out at a factory in New Delhi that was sewing leather bags, killing six workers.
Some of the victims were trapped in the building and burned beyond recognition.
The lucrative garment industry in South Asia has a particularly striking safety record, and regulators say safety rules are often flouted.
On September, a boiler exploded at a packaging plant in northern Dhaka, Bangladesh, causing a fire that killed 25 people.
On November 2012, nine workers were swallowed up by a devastating fire, killing at least 111 people.
Storey garment factory outside Dhaka.
Six months later, a bigger disaster followed the collapse of a garment factory building, killing 1,138 people and trapping more than 3,000 workers.
The tragedy in Rana Plaza sparked international outrage and put pressure on clothing brands in Europe and the United States to raise wages and conditions for factories that supply clothing.
The fire hit the ground floor of a narrow residential building on the eastern edge of New Delhi in the early hours of the morning, which was used to make fake leather jackets.
Witness Shahabudin Ali said that when the fire quickly spread to the first floor and most of the workers were sleeping, residents rushed to the factory immediately after hearing the screams of the trapped people.
\"We started to douse the fire ourselves with buckets and garden pipes,\" he said . \".
\"Two hours after the fire, fire department officials arrived at the scene.
Police confirmed 13 deaths, adding that the fire could have been caused by a short circuit or a cigarette.
\"At about 4: 30 am, a fire broke out at a factory in the sahibaad residential area.
Local police spokesman bagwatt Singh told AFP that 13 people had died sleeping there and two or three others were being treated in hospital.
Police chief Salman Taj said three of the dead were burned to death for inhaling smoke.
Residents and a local fire official said two workers survived jumping off the balcony of the building.
\"The two of them woke up by chance, saying that while running to the terrace, they screamed to wake others up, but others didn\'t wake up, maybe it was late, abbas Hussein, a local fire official, said.
Hussain described a pile of leather stacked in narrow stairs and narrow workshops in the building, adding that the factory is likely to be illegal.
\"From what we have seen, there is nothing appropriate, the factory is certainly not legal, but we can only be sure after proper investigation,\" Hussain said . \".
Police chief Taj has confirmed that two owners have been detained.
The fire is another stain on India\'s poor workplace safety record, where fatal accidents are commonplace. -
Inhuman conditions
Local residents say the maze of narrow streets of illegal factories that employ mostly low-paid migrant workers.
The burnt factory is surrounded by residential buildings on both sides and shops on the first floor.
Residents said the front of the workshop had been closed by metal grills similar to the adjacent storefront, which made it impossible for workers to escape at the beginning of the fire.
Nawaz Alam, a migrant worker in a nearby jeans workshop, said he had no choice but to work in an illegal factory.
\"Our salary is not high and we have to live an inhuman life in the factory in order to save money,\" Alam said . \".
\"I prefer to work in a suitable factory, but I can\'t find a job.
\"Last month, eight workers were killed in a huge explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, while on May 2014, a large-scale fire broke out in a fireworks and firecrackers workshop in central state, killing 15 people.
On November 2013, a fire broke out at a factory in New Delhi that was sewing leather bags, killing six workers.
Some of the victims were trapped in the building and burned beyond recognition.
The lucrative garment industry in South Asia has a particularly striking safety record, and regulators say safety rules are often flouted.
On September, a boiler exploded at a packaging plant in northern Dhaka, Bangladesh, causing a fire that killed 25 people.
On November 2012, nine workers were swallowed up by a devastating fire, killing at least 111 people.
Storey garment factory outside Dhaka.
Six months later, a bigger disaster followed the collapse of a garment factory building, killing 1,138 people and trapping more than 3,000 workers.
The tragedy in Rana Plaza sparked international outrage and put pressure on clothing brands in Europe and the United States to raise wages and conditions for factories that supply clothing.
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