At least 20 people were killed and dozens others sustained injuries as a boiler explosion resulted in a devastating fire in a packaging factory at Tongi on the outskirts ofBangladesh capital Dhaka on Saturday morning, police said.
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Several bodies were recovered from the five-story Tampaco Foils Ltd. factory in the Tongi industrial area outside Dhaka, fire official Mohammed Rafiquzzaman said.
Flames and smoke were seen billowing out of the factory, six hours after the fire started.
Bangladesh factory inspector general Syed Ahmed said an investigation would occur into the cause of Saturday’s accident.
“We checked the design of this factory and initially it is our understanding that it was a one floor building and later the floor had been raised, similar to case of Rana Plaza”, he said.
Another firefighter said he feared more bodies were still inside the factory in the industrial town of Tongi.
The workers at the factory were to go on leave for a week-long holiday for Eid festival after their work today.
On its website, Tampaco Foils lists major global brands, such as British American Tobacco and Nestle, among its customers. “Looking at how the fire is still going, it’s hard to believe he might be alive”, Babu said, choking up.
Readymade garments are the mainstay of the Bangladeshi economy, and earned $28 billion in exports during the fiscal year that ended in June. 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.
Fire department officials initially identified the factory as a garment packaging plant, but later clarified that it packs food and cigarettes. Workers are often crammed in elbow to elbow, while fire escape stairwells are routinely blocked or padlocked closed, ostensibly to prevent theft.
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It is not the first time mishaps at factories killed people in Bangladesh.
