Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- At least nine workers were killed and more than 100 wounded in a devastating fire at a garment factory near Dhaka Export Processing Zone in Ashulia Saturday night.
The dead included seven female and two male workers of the factory, a local police official confirmed.
Those killed in the incident did not suffer burns, but they died after jumping off different floors of the eight-storey Tazreen Fashion at Nischintapur in a bid to escape the blaze that started on the ground floor around 6:50pm, police, fire-fighters and witnesses said, adding that the flames soon spread up to the fourth floor.
Panic-stricken workers, especially the women, started running helter-skelter and jumped off the building. This left many of them seriously injured. Four of those who jumped died on the spot.
Harunur Rashid, assistant manager of the nearby Centre for Women and Child Health, said they received the bodies of four female workers. They were identified as Moriyum, 25, Morsheda, 26, Mousumi, 26 and Nurunnesa, 30.
A male worker, identified as Maruf, 22, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 10:00pm.
The identity of the four other dead could not be known immediately as relatives took away their bodies from the spot, the police official added.
Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Abu Naim Mohammad Shahidullah told reporters at the spot that the fire might have originated from an electrical short circuit. However, he added, nothing could be said for sure before a thorough investigation.
The rescuers brought down about 50 workers trapped on the rooftop of the building.
"Around 6:50pm, I was about to enter the factory building when I heard the fire alarm. I saw flames and fumes coming out of the ground floor,” Moinul, a worker of Tazreen Fashion, said.
He also said some workers managed to come out but many got trapped inside as the fire quickly spread. "I saw many of my fellow workers jumping from the building."
Some workers said there was an emergency exit at the building but they could not use it, as they were not trained to do that.
Three fire-fighting units from EPZ rushed there at 7:15pm. They tried to douse the fire with the help of locals. Twelve more units joined them later.
BBN/SSR/AD-25Nov12-8:20 am (BST)
