LAHORE: The Johar Town police handed over five bodies on Saturday to the families of the workers of a garments factory who had died in a blaze erupted in a plaza late on Friday night.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson, the fire had apparently erupted because of electricity short-circuit at the third floor of Mian Plaza, the building that housed the garments factory. He said over 12 people were working in the factory at the time of the incident. The fire spread so rapidly that six of the workers fell unconscious due to dense smoke. The fire-fighting squad put off the blaze after two-hour hectic efforts, he added.

Three workers suffered severe burns and died on the spot while two others succumbed to their wounds at a local hospital.

The condition of another worker injured in the incident was said to be stable.

The factory owner, Zahid Ullah was not present there at the time of the incident.

Johar Town police said all the five deceased workers were relatives of the factory owner and belonged to Sargodha district.

The families of the workers refused to lodge a criminal case against Zahid, the police said, adding that the city district government officials were conducting an inquiry into the incident to establish the cause of the blaze.

Further action would be taken on the basis of the inquiry report, police said.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2015