The huge blast early Saturday at the Tampaco Foils Ltd. factory outside the capital, Dhaka, triggered a massive blaze that spread quickly at the plant, where flammable chemicals were stored.
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Senior firefighting official Anis Mahmud said his workers toiled through the night to douse the blaze but the structure was still too unsafe to enter properly to search through the debris. In 2013, more than 1,100 workers died in a building collapse that ranks as the country’s worst industrial disaster.
Nearly 100 people were working there in the building when the accident took place following an explosion in the boiler room.
The Dhaka Medical College and Hospital has conducted autopsy on 25 bodies yesterday and handed them over to the relatives.
The Tampaco Foils factory produces packaging for tobacco and other consumer products, with British American Tobacco and food giant Nestle among its clients.
Firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze in the four-storey building on Saturday morning.
German news agency DPA reported that the father of one of the deceased had filed suit against the factory’s owner, Syed Mokbul Hussain, a former lawmaker, and eight others for culpable homicide.
Tighter controls have been introduced, but dozens of workers still die every year. “They will also suggest how we can improve fire safety of local factories”, Ahmed said.
That sparked demands for greater safety in the country and put the onus on multinational companies sourcing clothing from Bangladesh to act.
A fire at Tazreen Fashion factory in late 2012 killed at least 112 workers. The Rana Plaza factory collapse incident is still fresh in minds for Bangladeshi people.
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The head of Bangladesh’s factory inspection department said a team had been set up to investigate the fire.
