Days after a garment factory fire took the lives of 258 people, the three owners have been granted bail. Pakistani police have opened a murder case and are investigating whether there was possible negligence by owners and managers of the factory. Click below to read more.
A Pakistani court has granted bail to three owners of a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi where a fire this week killed 258 people, a defense lawyer said Friday
Amir Mansoob Qureshi said the judge instructed the police that the factory owners cannot be arrested for eight days under bail terms. The court also asked the owners to surrender their passports and ordered them not to leave the country, the lawyer said.
Pakistani police have opened a murder case and are investigating whether possible negligence by the owners and managers of the garment factory led to the massive loss of life.
The fire that broke out Tuesday night was the deadliest industrial accident in Pakistan’s 65-year history, and highlighted the woeful safety conditions that exist at many factories around the country.
The horrific way the factory workers died has infuriated many Pakistanis. People caught in the basement suffocated when it filled with smoke while those on the higher floors were forced to break through metal bars over the windows and jump for their lives to the ground below.
Panicked workers had only one way out since the factory’s owner had locked all the other exit doors in response to a recent theft.
