Fire disaster in Bangladesh: “It was half of my heart”

Blocked escape routes, flammable materials: the fire in a factory near Dhaka was a catastrophe with an announcement. At least 52 people died – mostly children and adolescents.

Tithi was just lucky. She survived. “I worked on the sixth floor. A boy my age said there was a fire on the first floor,” she says. “But by then it was already dark everywhere because of the smoke. The boy shouted that we should go upstairs with him to save our lives. At that moment I saw that the door was locked by the factory management.”

Oliver Mayer
ARD studio New Delhi

The twelve-year-old made it up to the roof with 24 others, the fire brigade was able to save her – with a ladder. But many other children were not so lucky. They perished in the fire. 52 deaths have been counted so far. How many children died is not yet known. The extinguishing work continued all weekend.

The corpses that have since been removed from the building have been burned beyond recognition. Only with DNA analysis will it be possible to determine who they are. It could be Labannya, the daughter of Mohammad Laltu. “She was my youngest daughter and the one I loved the most,” says the father. “She was half of my heart. My heart was full of love for her. I am completely speechless.”

“You couldn’t help it”

The 14-year-old has been working in the factory for a good month, he says. Eight hours a day, sometimes twelve. For the equivalent of $ 75 a month. Not uncommon in Bangladesh, where many children from poor families are sent to work in factories. Mohammad Laltu had rushed to the building when he learned that it was burning. “The fire broke out on the first floor. My daughter was busy making pasta that day. When it broke out, they rushed to the gate to escape upstairs, but it was locked on the inside and they had nowhere to go. Others somehow made it, but my daughter and the others who were with her not because the door was locked, “said Laltu. “I heard a lot of the little workers screaming. Some called their parents. Some of them jumped out the window, some passed out and fell down. They couldn’t help themselves. When we saw how devastating the fire is, we were clear that all are lost. ”

The fire broke out in the six-story building on Thursday evening, but it was difficult to put out, says chief fire officer, Debashish Bardhan, deputy director, fire and civil defense headquarters. “It’s a company that produces food and beverages. For packaging There are different types of film used in these products. There is a lot of flammable material in here, like – polyethylene, chemicals and things like that. So it took us so long to get the fire under control. ”

Factory owner arrested

It appears the company has broken fire and building codes. Not uncommon in Bangladesh. The government immediately set up a commission of inquiry. Mirza Azam is their leader. “We learned that most of the victims died on a single floor. That floor was locked from the inside,” said Azam. “We will find the person responsible for this action and bring them to justice. And we will investigate whether any regulations were violated in the construction of the building. Our authorities will definitely look into it.”

The factory owner and seven of his employees were arrested on Saturday morning, the charge: murder. The suspects are to be interrogated for four days. It will also be about child labor, says Commissioner Azam. “There were children working in the factory, yes. Those who employed those children should be brought to justice. At the moment we don’t know exactly how many children. But the investigation will find that out.”

Suma Rani Barman is crying because her daughter Kampa was also in the factory. And she’s bitter. “I don’t want my daughter’s body. If the factory security had tried harder, they could have saved my daughter,” she says. Her husband Porba, a fisherman, is just as desperate. And he blames himself for letting the 14-year-old work. “My daughter can’t help it. Now people may accuse me of allowing her to do this so that she could make money. But I would never have allowed her to do that if I had known how dangerous it is.”