fire roared through a mattress factory yesterday, killing 55 people and injuring a dozen others, the official news agency reported. Most of the deaths occurred on the building's third floor where women sew, according to a worker who escaped.
Rachida Darif, 29, said she saved herself by crawling through a space to the roof, then jumping down from a neighboring building that was under construction. She said she used a construction cord to lower herself part way and then jumped.
About 100 people were in the factory when the fire broke out about 10 a.m. and quickly spread through the four-story building, according to the news agency. Chemical products in the factory added to the fury of the flames. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known