At least 52 people died and around 30 were injured according to authorities on Friday in a massive fire that ravaged a factory near Dhaka in Bangladesh, where many workers had to jump out of windows to escape the blaze. It was not yet known this Friday the total number of people who were in the six-story building located
Rupganj, an industrial city close to the capital. And families continued to wait for news of their loved ones near the factory, which was still in the flames.
Police and witnesses reported that the fire started around 5 p.m. Thursday at the Hashem Food and Beverage factory, which made sweets, noodles and juices, among other things. Police initially said three people were killed. But this toll continued to swell this Friday afternoon when help finally reached the highest floors, which allowed rescuers to start removing corpses from the building.
At least thirty people injured
At least 30 people were injured, some of whom threw themselves from the windows on the upper floors as the flames progressed rapidly, police inspector Sheikh Kabirul Islam said. The firefighting services rescued 25 people on the roof of the building. “Once the fire is contained, we will launch an operation to search for survivors inside,” said Debashish Bardhan, spokesman for the emergency services.
Dinu Moni Sharma, the head of the Dhaka fire department, said the fire spread quickly due to the presence of highly flammable chemicals and plastics in the building. Fires and collapses of buildings are frequent in Bangladesh, a poor country in South Asia, especially within its important textile industry, due to non-compliance with safety measures and standards.
At least 70 people were killed in February 2019 in a massive fire that ravaged apartment buildings in Dhaka, where chemicals were illegally stored. In April 2013, the Rana Plaza clothing workshop collapsed like a house of cards, killing at least 1,138 workers. This drama had aroused a worldwide stir.