Migrant workers die in factory fire

On 1 December 2013, seven migrant garment workers died and three were injured when a clothing factory in an industrial zone in the Italian town of Prato burned down. The workers from China had been sleeping in a cardboard dormitory above a warehouse in the Macrolotto industrial district of Prato, known for its large number of garment factories.

The region has a large number of Chinese-owned textile manufacturing businesses. Many of these had been operating illegally or semi-legally, producing cheap garments for large and well-known brands. Prato has a reported 4,000 Chinese-owned businesses alone while many more are operating illegally.