Dhaka: The death toll in the fire tragedy at a Bangladeshi factory on Monday climbed to 32 after more bodies were retrieved from under the debris and authorities called in a team of army to join the rescue operation.
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The government has launched an investigation into what caused the fire, but police in the industrial town of Tongi, where the Tampaco Foils Limited factory was located, said bereaved relatives had already filed a private lawsuit.
Low-priced manufacturing is the mainstay in Bangladesh, one of the world’s top garment exporters with a Dollars 27-billion industry.
More than 1,100 people were killed and 2,500 injured after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building which housed five garment factories in 2013.
Thirteen people are being treated for burn injuries at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, including six in critical condition, Mohammed Bacchu Mia, a police officer at the hospital, said Monday.
“We checked the design of this factory and it is our understanding that it was a one-floor building and later the floor had been raised, similar to the case of Rana Plaza”, he said.
Bangladeshi people and firefighters work to put out a fire at a packaging factory in the Tongi industrial area, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, September 11, 2016.
Many fear the death toll could rise further as the search continues and a few people remain missing after the blaze caused a partial collapse of the factory building.
International Labour Organisation director general Guy Ryder has said the incident at Tampaco Foils Ltd in Gazipur highlights that there can be no room for complacency and much ground still needs to be covered despite progress about security of workers in Bangladesh.
The fire is the latest in a series of industrial accidents in the South Asian country.
Tampaco Foils makes packaging for food and cigarettes for a number of local companies and global brands like British American Tobacco and Nestle.
The site produces and prints plastic packaging for products including snacks and small household goods.
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At least 13 people died in a fire at a plastic factory in Dhaka past year.
