Karachi, Sep 12: The death toll from a pair of devastating factory fires that broke out in Pakistan's two biggest cities rose to 314 people on Wednesday, many of whom perished because they were unable to escape buildings that lacked emergency exits and basic safety equipment such as alarms and sprinklers.
Such safety issues are common in Pakistan, where many factories are set up illegally in the country's densely populated cities, and owners often pay officials bribes to look the other way.
The number of deaths from the two fires that broke out Tuesday night could trigger calls for better oversight of industrial safety.
The more deadly blaze was at a garment factory in Karachi.
The death toll from the fire rose to 191 people on Wednesday, as firefighters continued to battle the blaze, said Roshan Ali Sheikh, a senior government official in Karachi.
