KARACHI: Pakistan has registered murder charges against factory bosses and government officials over the deaths of 289 people in the country's worst industrial disaster.

Workers suffocated or burnt to death at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Karachi, which made clothing for export, when a fire tore through the building on Tuesday evening.

Grief … relatives of workers killed in Karachi. Credit:AFP

About 600 people were working at the time in a building that officials said was in poor condition. The lack of emergency exits forced dozens to jump from upper storeys to escape the flames and trapped dozens in the basement, where they died.

The government has ordered an inquiry and a senior official already said the two brothers who own the factory had been barred from leaving the country.