Mexico Fire Kills 6 in Store Without Fire Detectors

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Labor Department says there were no fire detectors at a department store where a blaze killed six women.

The federal agency says in a statement that investigators found the Coppel store in the northwestern city of Culiacan also lacked emergency exit signs -- and it is still trying to determine if there were even emergency exits.

A Tuesday night fire killed six young female employees who were carrying out an inventory. The women had used cell phones to call the fire department and relatives, begging for help.

The company has denied allegations that the women were locked in the building. They were on the second floor and the blaze broke out below them.