At least 25 people have died in a huge blaze at a packaging factory in Bangladesh, which firefighters are battling to contain.
Around 100 people were working at the site when the fire started in the boiler room of the Tampaco Foils factory in the industrial town of Tongi, north of the country's capital Dhaka.
Seventy people were injured, many of them in a critical condition, according to Parvez Mia, a doctor at the Tongi government hospital.
Police said there may still be some workers trapped inside the four-storey building.
There may also have been chemicals stored on the ground floor, which officials say would explain how the fire spread so rapidly after it started at 6am local time.
Mohammad Rokon, 35, was one of those who escaped the fire with minor injuries.
He said: "I was working inside the office room when I heard an explosion and felt a tremor.
"Then suddenly the ceiling started to fall on me.
"I almost became unconscious but I forced myself to go out with the help of my phone's flashlight."
The fire comes as many people prepared to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
The packaging factory supplies brands including British American Tobacco and Nestle Bangladesh, according to its website.
An investigation into the fire has been launched by Bangladesh's factory inspection department.
Fires and accidents are common in Bangladeshi factories, particularly in the clothing industry, which is the world's second-largest.
Workers have little chance of escape, with building regulations rarely enforced, chemicals badly stored and many fire exits blocked or padlocked to prevent theft.
Four years ago at least 111 workers were killed in a fire at a nine-storey garment factory in the Ashulia industrial area.
Six months later, 1,138 people died after the Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed.
No comments:
Post a Comment