RUPGANJ (Bangladesh) – A massive blaze tore through a Bangladesh plant, killing at least 52 people trapped by flames that forced many workers to leap for their lives from the upper floors, said police today.
About 30 people were injured, and hundreds of distraught relatives and other workers waited anxiously outside the food factory as the fire continues to rage.
The inferno is the latest to tarnish the country’s safety record, which is marred by a series of disasters at industrial complexes and apartment buildings.
In February 2019, at least 70 people died when an inferno ripped through Dhaka apartments where chemicals were illegally stored.
The latest fire broke out at the Hashem Food and Beverage facility here, an industrial town outside Dhaka, yesterday afternoon. It continues to burn almost 24 hours later.
Police initially gave a toll of three dead, but it rose dramatically as firefighters reached the upper floors and started bringing out dozens of trapped workers’ bodies.
The charred victims were piled in a fleet of ambulances to take them to mortuaries amid anguished shouts and tears from people watching in the streets.
Police dispersed hundreds of residents, who blocked nearby roads and clashed with officers.
Some of the more than 30 injured jumped from the upper floors as flames quickly engulfed the six-storey building, said police inspector Sheikh Kabirul Islam.
Emergency services are battling to put out the blaze on the fifth and sixth floors. Firefighters rescued 25 people from the roof of the factory, which manufactures noodles, fruit juices and candy.
“Once the fire is under control, we will conduct a search-and-rescue operation inside. Then, we can confirm any further casualties, if any,” Debashish Bardhan, a fire service spokesman, told AFP.
Dinu Moni Sharma, head of the Dhaka fire department, said the blaze took off because highly flammable chemicals and plastics are stockpiled inside.
Mohammad Saiful, a worker who escaped, said dozens of people were inside when the fire erupted.
“On the third floor, the gates on both stairwells were closed. Other colleagues are saying there were 48 people inside. I don’t know what happened to them.”
Mamun, another worker, said he and 13 others ran to the roof after the fire broke out on the ground floor and black smoke quickly choked the whole factory.
“Firefighters brought us down using rope,” he told reporters.
As clouds of smoke billowed from the building, many of the waiting relatives said they fear the worst.
Nazrul Islam said: “We came here because my niece was not receiving our phone calls for a while. And now, the phone is not ringing at all. We are worried.” – AFP, July 9, 2021
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