100 injured; reason behind blaze at Ha-Meem unit not confirmed
At least 22 people died when a fire swept through the sportswear factory of Ha-Meem Group in Ashulia yesterday.
Around 100 were also injured at the 11-storey That’s It Sports Wear Ltd factory building in Narsinghapur on the outskirts of the capital.
However, only one person died of smoke inhalation while the rest died trying to escape the fire. Four out of the seven exit staircases of the building were closed.
Sources said many died when they jumped off the windows trying to escape the heat and fire. Many workers fell from the building when they were trying to scale down long cloths they were using to get down from the burning building.
Of the deceased, three died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital while others at different hospitals in the area.
Rescuers also recovered the body of the worker, who died from smoke inhalation, from the bathroom on the ninth floor at 7:20pm.
The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.
Survivors said around 500 workers of the factory were either having lunch on the top-floor canteen or working on the ninth floor from where the fire broke out around 1:00pm.
Injured Mozammel Hossain said, “As someone shouted fire… fire… many ran out of the 10th floor while many like me stayed thinking it was something related to the agitation over wage discrimination.”
“Within a couple of minutes we saw smoke and moments later black smoke engulfed the entire canteen where I and around 150 others were. We then ran to the staircases but failed to go down due to excessive heat,” he continued.
He said they broke the windowpanes and iron bars of windows and hung long cloths down the exterior of the building so that they could climb down. Many fell to the ground trying to get down this way, he said, adding that several people got injured when people trying to climb down fell on them.
Condition of many injured is critical.
Another survivor Mohammad Morsalin said soon after the fire began, the ninth and 10th floors became dark with smoke and it was extremely hot.
Sample-section worker Mujibor Rahman said all three emergency exits and exits for women were closed and a few could not get out through the three other staircases.
Worker Ruma and her elder sister Hamida said although they could get down using a staircase, many who were late to respond failed to escape.
She alleged that many were trapped as a security guard of the factory locked a collapsible gate.
Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) said many were injured after jumping off the building and others while scaling down the staircases in a hurry.
It took time to douse the fire as fabrics inside the factory were burning, he said.
Firemen of 19 fire engines in association with Rapid Action Battalion and police helped douse the fire.
Army personnel were also helping out. Two helicopters hovered over the building for around two hours.
Maj Ahsan of Rab-1 said the fire was contained on the ninth and 10th floors.
Hundreds of people thronged the spot looking for their loved ones while thousands went to see the catastrophe.
Many were also looking for their friends and relatives at nearby hospitals.
Deputy General Manager of Ha-Meem Group Lt Col (retd) Delwar Hossain told The Daily Star that the fire began from the finishing section on the ninth floor during lunchtime.
Even though the factory, called “That’s It Sports Wear Ltd”, has around 5,000 workers, most of them were out having lunch, he said.
Injured workers said there were around 500 workers on the two floors during the time of the fire.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent her condolences to families of the deceased workers. She also asked authorities concerned to investigate the incident and find out the reasons behind the catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the government formed a five-member committee led by an additional secretary to the home ministry to probe the incident following directives of the prime minister.
Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) formed another three-member committee to investigate the fire.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun who briefed reporters on the spot said the committee must submit its report in seven days.
She claimed 20 people died and 50 workers were injured.
BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy told The Daily Star that families of each of the deceased workers would be given Tk 1 lakh as compensation from the BGMEA and Tk 1 lakh from Ha-Meem Group.
The home minister said each injured worker would get Tk 25,000 from BGMEA.
