GUJRANWALA: As many as one worker was killed and 32 people after a massive explosion completely destroyed a factory on Sheikhpura Road in Gujranwala today.
According to rescue sources, the explosion occurred due to gas leakage. There were more than 200 workers present inside the factory when the incident occurred. Witnesses said that several workers are still trapped under the rubble.
Rescue teams have arrived at the scene and rescue operation on the site. The incident has once again raised questions over Pakistan‘s lax enforcement of safety and building codes.
In November last year, a four-storey Rajput Polyester polythene bag factory in Lahore came crashing down, killing more than 40 people.
Initial report suggested that the factory may have suffered structural damage in the October 26 quake, which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Also in September 2012, 289 people burned to death in a fire at a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi. On the same day, a fire at a shoe factory in Lahore killed 25.