A massive fire in a Bangladesh food processing factory has killed at least 52 people trapped by flames that forced many workers to leap for their lives from the upper floors, AFP news agency reports, citing police officials. The blaze broke out at the factory in Rupganj, an industrial town 25km (15 miles) east of capital Dhaka, on Thursday afternoon and was still burning nearly 24 hours later, the agency said.
About 30 people were injured. It was unclear how many people were trapped inside, though distraught relatives outside and other factory workers said they feared that others may have not escaped. Police and witnesses said the fire broke out at Hashem Food and Beverage factory in Rupganj, an industrial town outside Dhaka, about 5:00 pm Thursday (1100 GMT) and was still raging on Friday morning. “Three people have died after they sustained burn injuries,” Jayedul Alam, regional police chief, told AFP. At least 30 people were injured including some who jumped from the upper floor after the fire quickly raced through the six-storey factory, police inspector Sheikh Kabirul Islam said. Police initially gave a toll of three dead but it rose dramatically as firefighters reached the upper floors and started bringing out dozens of bodies of trapped workers.
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. Dinu Moni Sharma, head of the Dhaka fire department, said the fire took place because highly flammable chemicals and plastics had been stockpiled inside. The inferno was the latest to tarnish Bangladesh’s safety record marred by a series of disasters in industrial complexes and apartment buildings.
