World Apr. 27, 2008 - 04:39AM JST ( 0 )

CASABLANCA —

Fifty-five people were killed and 12 seriously injured in a fire Saturday at a mattress factory in Morocco’s biggest city Casablanca.

The domestic MAP news agency, citing the emergency services, said the fire broke out on the ground floor of the four-storey Rosamor Furniture plant at around 10 a.m., when 155 employees were present.

The cause of the blaze, in the Lissasfa industrial district of southeast Casablanca, was not immediately known, although a security official said that an accident was suspected.

“The people who died were either asphyxiated or burned,” a firefighter said, as relatives of plant workers were seen at the scene, shedding tears and worrying about the fate of those inside.

The flames spread quickly due to the highly flammable nature of the materials used to make mattresses, MAP reported.

The plant’s owner and his son, who was its manager, were to be questioned by the authorities, as prosecutors opened an investigation.

One security source said that windows at the factory had been fitted with iron bars, making escape difficult for those trapped inside.

King Mohammed VI ordered the authorities “to take all necessary measures to help the victims,” including the mobilization of burns units at hospitals all over Morocco, including the elite military hospital in the capital Rabat.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, at the scene, called the inferno “catastrophic”.

He said prosecutors had asked the judicial police to look into “the circumstances of this disaster and to examine the working conditions at the plant with a view to establishing responsibility”.

AFP