The fire broke out following a boiler explosion at the four-storey Tempako Packaging Factory this morning in Tongi industrial area, north of Dhaka, said Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Akhtaruzzaman.
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At least 18 people died when a boiler exploded at a four-story Bangladeshi factory near Dhaka early Saturday, a hospital official said.
It’s the latest in a series of factory disasters in Bangladesh, one of the world’s top garment exporters. A year later, a multi-storied commercial complex housing five garment factories and offices collapsed, killing 1,135 people, mostly garment workers near Dhaka. “Now he is going to be buried there”, said Khaleda Begum, the sister of a worker killed in the accident.
Tampaco’s website says its clients include several local companies and global brands including British American Tobacco and Nestle. The Rana Plaza tragedy triggered worldwide outrage and put pressure on European and U.S. clothing brands to improve pay and conditions at the factories that supply them. “They’ll probe why the fire occurred and whether the factory lacked proper fire safety measures”.
“The building is hot and it is not possible to enter”, said Ajit Kumar Bhoumik, a senior official with the fire department, early on Sunday.
Fire officials working at the scene said that the explosion was huge and that the fire triggered by the blast spread quickly because flammable chemicals were stored at the factory.
At least 24 workers were killed when their factory was ripped apart by a massive fire today.
Witnesses and media have reported that smoke were still coming out from the site despite claims by the fire fighters to have doused the fire.
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“Atikul Islam said he could not reach his brother Rafikul Islam over phone after the accident and went to the Tongi hospital”.
