16 killed in fire at garment factory and chemical warehouse in B’desh

Dhaka: At least 16 workers were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in a fire that broke out at a garment factory and a chemical warehouse in the Bangladeshi capital, officials said.

The devastating fire broke out at a chemical warehouse next to the garment factory in Dhaka’s Rupnagar area, Talha Bin Jasim, an officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Media Wing, was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency. “During the search campaign, 16 bodies were recovered from the garment factory alone,” Fire Service spokesman Anwarul Islam told the agency.

He said fire was suspected to have broken out from the chemical warehouse and spread to garments unit - Anwar Fashion Garments Factory and Shah Alam Chemical Warehouse.

“We have extinguished the fire at the four-storey garment factory, but efforts are still underway to douse the blaze at the chemical depot,” Islam said. Fire Service and Civil Defence Director (Operation and Maintenance) Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury confirmed the toll, but said the victims have not yet been identified. Nine bodies were recovered from the first and second floors of the garment factory, Chowdhury told reporters earlier.

“We suspect that all of them have died after inhaling toxic gas,” Chowdhury was quoted as saying by Bangla language daily Prothom Alo

“We suspect the fire began with a chemical explosion that produced poisonous gas. Many victims might have died instantly after inhaling the toxic fumes,” Chowdhury was quoted as saying.