May 25, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 12,1423

AGRA, May 24: At least 42 factory workers were killed and 13 injured on Friday in a huge fire at a shoe factory in Agra.

Around 60 other people were feared trapped on upper floors of the building in the bustling Jeoni Mandi market area.

“Rescue operations are continuing and there is an attempt now to look for survivors still trapped,” Uttar Pradesh’s police chief said, adding that more bodies were likely to be buried in the debris of a collapsed room.

“The injured have been shifted to hospitals,” he added.

Workers inside the building, which went up in flames quickly because of the highly-flammable solutions used in shoe-making, were trapped as the fire blocked exits.

Witnesses said they could be seen standing at windows on upper floors of the blazing building. Some were injured as they jumped to escape the flames.

Army and air force units were called in to help the stretched firefighters. Soldiers removed charred bodies through the back of the factory where a wall was broken.

Many of the bodies were disfigured and burnt beyond recognition.

“The fire broke out in the shoe factory in the morning on Friday and engulfed the building,” said senior local official V.K. Sharma.

It appeared the building lacked fire safety measures.

—AFP