Deadly inferno
Many workers trapped inside building with no emergency exit
A fire at a garment factory in Bangladesh leaves 112 dead.
DHAKA: At least 112 people were killed in a fire that raced through a multi-storey garment factory just outside of Bangladesh’s capital, an official said.
The blaze broke out at the seven-storey factory operated by Tazreen Fashions on Saturday. By yesterday morning, firefighters had recovered 100 bodies, fire department Operations Director Major Mohammad Mahbub said.
He said another 12 people who had suffered injuries after jumping from the building to escape the fire later died at hospitals.
Survivors told how panicked staff, mostly women, desperately tried to escape the factory, which the owner said made clothes for international brands including Dutch chain C&A and the Hong Kong-based Li & Fung company.
The death toll could rise as the search for victims was continuing, he said.
Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed in the fire. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear and authorities have ordered an investigation.
Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures.
The country annually earns about US$20bil (RM61bil) from exports of garment products, mainly to the United States and Europe.
Relatives of the factory workers
I want the factory owner to be hanged. For him, many have died, many have gone. — SABINA YASMINE
were frantically looking for their loved ones. Sabina Yasmine said she saw the body of her daughterin-law, who died in the fire, but had no trace of her son, who also worked at the factory.
“Oh, Allah, where’s my son?” wailed Yasmine, who works at another factory in the area.
“I want the factory owner to be hanged. For him, many have died, many have gone.”
Mahbub said firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor of the factory alone.
He said most of the victims had been trapped inside the factory, located just outside of Dhaka, with no emergency exit leading outside the building.
Many workers who had taken shelter on the roof of the factory were rescued, but firefighters were unable to save those who were trapped inside, Mahbub said.
He said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. — AP