Fire in chemical and clothing factory claims at least 16 lives

At least 16 people died in a fire at a chemical and clothing factory in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Tuesday. Officials announced this. The fire broke out in the factory warehouse. From there it spread to a nearby multi-story clothing building, said Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of the fire department.

All the bodies were recovered from the garment factory, Chowdhury told reporters, confirming the death toll. In front of the factory, desperate relatives searched for their loved ones. Abdur Rahman, 19, said he was looking for his brother Robin. “I found one of his colleagues who escaped through a broken window. He saw my brother Robin inside,” Rahman told AFP. “He didn’t make it.” Several others held up pictures of missing relatives and pleaded for information.

“The deceased appear to have suffered severe smoke inhalation from the chemicals. Highly flammable materials were stored inside,” Chowdhury told reporters. The authorities have not yet entered the chemical warehouse.

Witness Tahmina Sharmin, 34, said she heard a loud explosion. The area was then filled with flames and smoke. “People were startled and didn’t know what to do at first,” she told AFP. She said she was among the first to respond before firefighters arrived.

Last year alone, more than 26,500 fires were reported in Bangladesh. Security standards there are low and often ignored. In 2021, at least 52 people, including many children, died in a food factory fire. The worst fire in Bangladesh occurred in 2012, when a fire destroyed a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka. At least 111 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured.