A suspected boiler explosion inside of a four-story food and cigarette factory in Bangladesh on Saturday has left at least 23 dead and dozens more injured, Reuters reported.
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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.
Firefighters work to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industy area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The official said the death toll may go up as many people have sustained critical injuries.
“There were about 100 people inside the building when fire broke out”, Mohammad Nayan, a worker who was helping with rescue efforts, told reporters.
“We have removed eight bodies to the hospital and are trying to retrieve a further two”.
A doctor on duty at Tongi Hospital said nine bodies were in the mortuary as officials waited for family members to identify them. Television footage showed smoke billowing from the factory, with the fire engulfing part of the upper floors.
Factory safety is a major concern in Bangladesh, which has thousands of garment and packaging factories that supply products to global chains like Wal-Mart and H&M.
Twenty five units of firefighters were deployed to douse the fire.
The accident was followed by an even bigger tragedy six months later when 1,138 people died after another clothing factory complex collapsed, trapping over 3,000 workers. In 2012, a fire at a garment factory in a Dhaka suburb killed 112 workers.
A third probe has been launched by the government’s Factory Inspection Department.
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Low-priced manufacturing is a mainstay of Bangladesh’s economy, but a series of industrial disasters in recent years have raised concerns about safety standards.
