At least 52 people died after a fire at a five-story food and beverage factory near Bangladesh’s capital city Thursday, officials said.
Some of those who died became trapped inside the Hashem Foods Limited factory due to a locked door that could have been in violation of the country’s factory laws, said Debasish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense.
Authorities have not cleared the top two floors of the building and might find more dead, Bardhan said.
“For now, we only have these details,” Bardhan said. “After searching the top floors we will be able to get a complete picture.”
FOUR DEAD IN WORST FOREST FIRE IN CYPRIOT HISTORY
Some factory workers reportedly jumped from the factory’s upper floors to escape the flames, injuring at least 26.
The factory is operated by Hashem Foods Limited, a subsidiary of Bangladeshi conglomerate Sajeeb Group that operates food manufacturing, real estate, and electronic media business ventures and exports products to the Middle East, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Africa, according to its website.
The company follows international labor standards, an executive said, but could not confirm whether the factory door was locked.
“We are a reputed company; we maintain rules,” said Abdur Rahman, Sajeeb Group’s senior general manager for export. “What happened today is very sad. We regret it.”
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Bangladeshi factory workers have died under similar circumstances in previous tragedies. At least 117 workers were killed after being trapped by locked exit doors in a Dhaka garment factory in 2012. Another garment factory fire in 2013 killed more than 1,100 people.
