Officials say at least 289 people have died in a tragic fire at a garment factory in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
Reports suggest that there were next to no fire safety precautions, and that grilles on the windows left hundreds trapped in the basement with no access to fire exits.
People were seen jumping from the roof of the five storey building in an attempt to escape the inferno.
Fires leading to a high death toll are common Pakistan, and just hours before the fire in Karachi a shoe factory fire in Lahore killed 25 people.
Both fires are under investigation but suspected to involve faulty electricity generators.
An eyewitness, Mohammad Saleem, speaking with AFP news agency said: "It was terrible, suddenly the entire floor filled with fire and smoke and the heat was so intense that we rushed towards the windows, broke its steel grille and glass and jumped out.
“I fell on the ground and it was extremely painful, I saw many people jumping out of windows and crying in pain for help.”
The death toll is likely to continue to rise with firefighters still removing bodies from the scene of the devastating blaze. City official Roshan Shaikh said “The death toll is 289. This is not final – the search for more bodies continues.”
There was only one exit from the building and eyewitnesses reported a stampede towards it made it all the more difficult to escape.
Speaking with BBC Urdu, one survivor spoke of his escape from the third floor, but five members of his family were not so lucky.
He said: "We started running towards the exit. There were 150-200 people all running and pushing each other. I fell down unconscious.”
"Then I managed to get some air from a vent. I started screaming. A crane made a hole in the wall and I was able to jump. I begged the rescue workers to help my relatives, but no-one paid any attention."
The size of the death toll makes this one of the deadliest workplace fires of all time, and is a reflection of the cramped and dangerous conditions facing workers in Pakistan.
It comes just a week after a massive fire tore through a firework factory in Southern India killing at least 38.
The fire took around 15 hours to bring under control, meaning the bodies of many who had succumbed to the toxic smoke had been burned beyond recognition.
A case has been registered against the owners of the factory, but the police investigation is likely to take some time due to the scale of the catastrophe.
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