Last 2 bodies recovered from South African factory fire

Rehana Adam, a member of the Lenasia City Council, left, comforts the sister of one of 11 victims killed in a factory fire in Lenasia, South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- Firemen on Sunday recovered the bodies of the last two of 11 workers who burned to death in a fire triggered by an explosion in a floor polish factory, police said.

Government and lab our spokesmen reacted with horror to the Friday night fire, which the night shift workers were apparently unable to escape because they had been locked into the chemical factory in Lenasia, a southern suburb of Johannesburg.

Superintendent Richard Luvhengo said the police enquiry was complete and a decision would be taken during the week on whether to charge the owner with culpable homicide or murder resulting from negligence.

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Night-shift workers were locked in and unable to escape, reports CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault (November 19) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

"The firemen recovered the last bodies today and we are finished on the scene," he said. Police declined to name the owner of the factory.

Luvhengo said on Saturday preliminary indications were that the workers, 10 women and one man, had tried to escape before seeking refuge in a changing room where they burned to death.

The fire was started by the explosion of three gas bottles, and some of the bodies were found embedded in melted wax and plastic.

Luvhengo said the owner of the Esschem factory appeared also to have stored dangerous chemicals and liquids in the building, breaking safety regulations.

A relative of a victim killed in a factory fire in Lenasia, South Africa, is comforted by a friend

The Johannesburg Sunday Times quoted witnesses who had run from a nearby nightclub to try to rescue the trapped workers late on Friday night and had listened helplessly to their screams.

"I saw one woman holding onto the mesh gate and she was crying. She couldn't get out," nightclub security guard John Phongwayao told the newspaper. "The lady was still crying when the factory exploded seconds later. Then there was just silence," he said.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) demanded an explanation for the incident.

"We are particularly shocked that, according to current reports, the doors of the factory were locked, without escape routes. In a factory using explosive substances, that is a crime and should be investigated as such," the lab our federation said in a statement.

Lab our Department director general Rams Ramashia ordered an immediate inquiry into the alleged violation of work safety regulations and Luvhengo said the owner of the factory was likely to face charges of murder or culpable homicide.

Ramashia visited the scene on Sunday, examining locks and gates smashed by firemen to get into the burning building.

Factory worker Margaret Washington, who stayed at home on Friday because of illness, told Reuters the owner had routinely locked in night shift workers to prevent them from stealing from his stores.

She said the telephone had been locked away to prevent them making calls.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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