AMMAN: Jordan’s Prime Minister Omar Razzaz expressed his condolences over the death of 13 Pakistanis lost in a barn fire Monday.

The fire broke out at 2.08 a.m. (local time) claiming the lives of eight children, four women and a man, Al-Mamlaka TV quoted Iyad Amro, spokesman for the Civil Defense Directorate, as saying.

The deceased had been living in the agricultural structures in Jordan Valley, and early reports indicate that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit.

PM Razzaz has established a committee comprising members of civil defense and interior ministry to look into the cause of the fire, Jordanian government spokesman Amjad Adaileh told Arab News.

“Sincere condolences and sympathies to our Pakistani brothers who died as a result of this painful incident … and our prayers for a speedy recovery to the injured,” Adaileh tweeted.

Hadeel Abdel Aziz, executive director of the Justice Center for Legal Aid in Jordan, told Arab News: “The government continues to disregard clear evidence about the environment of workers and the need to regulate the labor market, especially in the agricultural sector, and to enhance regulation and protection for laborers in this sector.”

“Ignoring the conditions of work for foreign workers, and treating it as unimportant because they’re non-Jordanian, is counterproductive and does more harm to the country,” she said.

Labor Ministry official Bilal Al-Majali said that special set of bylaws will be introduced soon to deal with the working conditions of agriculture workers. He added that major amendments to the Labor Law were currently under works.

“The changes will include the work environment and issues of the health and wellbeing of all workers, including foreign workers,” he told Arab News.

A spokeswoman for the Pakistani Embassy in Amman confirmed that 15,000 Pakistanis live in Jordan. She said the embassy has full faith in the investigative committee that Jordan’s government has established, and awaits its results.

Earlier Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said in a statement that the victims belonged to the Joya family from Dadu district in Sindh province. The head of the family, Ali Sher Joya, survived the incident. “The family reportedly migrated from Pakistan to Jordan in the 1970s and was associated with the farming profession.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed his condolences to the family of the victims. He also thanked the Jordanian authorities for their help and cooperation, the premier’s office said in a statement Monday evening.

The Pakistani Embassy in Amman is in touch with the victims’ relatives in Jordan.

“The ambassador and other senior officials are with the family to provide any urgent assistance. The Jordanian authorities are also extending full cooperation,” the statement said.