At least 16 people have died and several others have been injured after a massive fire swept through a garment factory and an adjoining chemical warehouse in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, officials said.
Authorities fear the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue through the night.
The blaze broke out shortly after midday on Tuesday on the third floor of a seven-storey garment factory in the city’s Mirpur district.
It quickly spread to a neighbouring warehouse storing bleaching powder, hydrogen peroxide and plastic, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence.
“Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the second and third floors of the garment factory,” said Brigadier General Tajul Islam Chowdhury, the director general of the Fire Service. “The number could increase as recovery operations continue.”
He added that the cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as flames engulfed the building and thick smoke poured into the air. Some workers were seen breaking windows in desperate attempts to escape.
“It all happened so quickly,” said Talha Bin Jashim, a senior fire department official at the scene. “The fire spread like a storm. Many workers were trapped inside before anyone could react.”
Outside the factory, dozens of anxious relatives gathered behind police barricades, clutching mobile phones and photographs of missing loved ones.
“My daughter called once and said, ‘Ma, there’s smoke everywhere — I can’t breathe.’ Then the line went dead,” said Hasina Begum, whose 19-year-old daughter worked on the third floor.
Emergency services said 12 firefighting units battled the flames for nearly three hours to bring the factory fire under control. However, the blaze at the adjacent warehouse, fuelled by chemicals, continued to burn into the evening.
Firefighters were joined by members of the Bangladesh Army, police, and Border Guard Bangladesh in the rescue effort.
We’re facing difficulties because of the highly flammable chemicals stored here,” firefighter Abdur Rahman said. “The warehouse is extremely hazardous — a single spark can reignite everything.”
Several people were taken to hospitals with burns and respiratory injuries caused by toxic fumes.
Officials said the owners of the garment factory had yet to be identified.
“The police and the army are looking for them,” Brig Gen Chowdhury said.
When asked whether the chemical warehouse had permission to operate, he replied: “We don’t know about the license yet. However, as far as we have heard, it is illegal. We will be able to confirm once the investigation is completed.”
Authorities have formed an inquiry committee to determine the cause of the fire and assess whether safety regulations were violated.
Bangladesh’s garment industry — the world’s second largest after China — employs more than four million people, most of them women, and contributes over 10% of the country’s GDP.
But the sector has long been criticised for its poor safety standards, with fatal fires and building collapses occurring regularly due to inadequate regulation, corruption and weak enforcement.
In 2013, the Rana Plaza disaster killed more than 1,100 workers when a multi-storey factory complex collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, exposing unsafe conditions and triggering global outrage.
“Every time a tragedy happens, officials pledge reform — but the promises fade,” said Nazma Akhter, a labour rights activist. “Workers continue to die in unsafe factories because the system protects the influentials, not the workers.”
We built this country’s economy with our hands,” said Shahidul Islam, a sewing operator who escaped from the second floor. “But when the flames come, no one is there to save us.”
Source : The Chittagong Hill Tracts
