10 dead in Bangladesh factory blast
DHAKA : A boiler explosion at a Bangladeshi garment factory killed 10 people and injured dozens, fire officials said on Tuesday, the latest accident to hit one of the world’s biggest garment producers.
The incident late on Monday happened during maintenance work at the factory owned by Multifabs Limited, a Bangladeshi company on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, company and fire brigade officials said.
“Nine people were killed in the blast and one died in hospital,” fire service official Palash Chandra Modak said.
The firm supplies knitted apparel to clients in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Spain, Netherlands and Britain, including to Littlewoods, one of Britain’s oldest retail brands, according to its website.
Fashion chain Lindex, which is part of Finnish retailer Stockmann, said the Bangladeshi firm was one of its most important suppliers.
Multifabs said the six-year-old boiler, procured from Germany, had just been serviced. The blast happened as the factory was being readied to resume operations following a 10-day shutdown for the Eid holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“This was an accident. Everything was fine,” Mahiuddin Faruqui, the company’s chairman and managing director, told Reuters.