Fire in illegal factory kills 16 in Hebron

The factory employed women, men and children. The fatalities were mostly women because the blaze took place on the second floor, where the women worked, survivors explained.

The fire burned for nearly two hours before Hebron firefighters, joined by crews from Kiryat Arba and Bethlehem, subdued the blaze at around 10:30 a.m. The wounded suffered from smoke inhalation and were evacuated by ambulance to hospitals in Hebron.

The fire broke out while boxes of lighters were being transferred from the men's area of the factory to the women's section for packaging, said Omar Abu Siwan, the manager of the women's floor.

A youth carrying a package of lighters to the women lost consciousness due to the fumes, dropped the box, and it exploded, said Abu Siwan, who was being treated at Ahli Hospital.

The fire quickly spread out of control, and blocked the small doorway out of the room. There was no fire escape, said Abu Siwan.

"Two of the women managed to escape while the rest remained trapped by the fire," he said. Abu Siwan escaped death because he was outside the door when the blazes spread, he said.

It was the worst fire in Hebron in more than 30 years, according to Awni Zughayer, a city council member.

The municipality had been unaware of the existence of the factory, Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe said.

"It was licensed nine years ago as a cold storage place for fruits and vegetables," he said. "Two weeks or a month ago the owner altered it to a place for filling lighters, without asking for approval."

Tayseer Karaje, director-general of the Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry, said the Palestinian Authority would investigate whether it could prosecute the owner of the factory, Faisal Asali, who is currently abroad.