9 dead in Gazipur factory blaze
At least nine people died in a fire that broke out in four buildings of a knitwear factory at Sripur in Gazipur on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The superintendent of police, Abdul Baten, told New Age that he had been reported that eight to 10 people might have been killed.‘The fire is still raging. It will need more time to stablish the number of death and the losses,’ he said about midnight.
Ten fire engines that were working late into the night could not put out the flames in the fire at Aswad Compositor Mills Limited of the Pall Mall Industrial Group.
Local people said that the fire had broken out on the first floor of the factory building about 7:00pm during the interval between two shifts.
Workers of the factory and many of their relatives and neighbours gathered at the factory gate anxiously inquiring about the fire, they said.
The factory’s director Emdad Khan said that the company would provide the families with Tk 30,000 for the funeral of each of the deceased.
The factory’s assistant managing director Humayun Kabir said that the fire had originated from knitting materials. Workers left the building safely, he said.
He said that 10 fire engines had reached the place about 45 minutes after the building had caught fire.
Local people said that smoke had spread spanning a kilometre around the factory.
In November 2012, at least 112 workers died in a fire that broke out in Tazreen Fashions Ltd at Ashulia.
In April this year, more than 1,100 people, mostly apparel workers, died as the Rana Plaza building that housed five clothing factories collapsed.
-With New Age input
