At least sixteen garment workers have been killed in a devastating fire in two buildings of a garment factory and chemical warehouse at Mirpur in Dhaka.
Fire Service and Civil Defenec (FSCD) Director (Operation and Maintenance) Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said in a press briefing that they have recovered sixteen bodies so far from the garments factory.
“We suspect that all of them have died after inhaling toxic gas,” he said, adding that the fire fighters are still conducting searches at the garment factory as the blaze was brought under control.
But, he alerted everyone to stay at least 300 yards away from the chemical warehouse as chemical is still leaking, which is risky for health.
He said that they are now using human-less machine like Luf 60 to douse the blaze in the chemical factory.
The fire originated in Anwar Fashion Garments Factory and Shah Alam Chemical Warehouse located in two separate buildings at Sialbari, Rupnagar in Mirpur around 11:40am on Tuesday, media officer of fire service Talha bin Jasim told BSS.
The two buildings are located side by side in front of Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) in Rupnagar, he said.
Nine firefighting engines rushed to the spot around 11:56 am and are working to douse the blaze in the buildings, he said.
However, the FSCD did not confirm from which building the fire originated and the cause behind the blaze.
-BSS
