More than 50 dead in Bangladesh: mourning after major fire in factory

More than 50 people were killed in a fire in a factory in Bangladesh. The number of victims could increase even further. How the fire broke out is still unclear.

They weep for their brothers, husbands and sons. Families waiting in front of the factory to see if someone else is injured or comes out alive:

My brother worked on the sixth floor of the factory. I can’t reach him, his phone is switched off. Oh Allah help me!

Videos from the AP news agency show firefighters coming out of the factory with plastic bags. Inside: charred corpses.

The fire department announced that the top two floors of the factory had not yet been searched. It was unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the accident and how many were still missing, said the deputy director for the Dhaka fire department.

The extinguishing operation lasted more than 20 hours

The fire brigade director said it would have taken his men more than 20 hours to put out the fire:

We were faced with a very difficult situation. Our vehicles could not approach the building on all sides because it was too narrow. It was also too risky to go up too far – it was way too hot and the smoke too thick.

In addition, the main entrance to the factory was locked from the inside. This may be the reason why many workers could not get outside.

No evidence of a possible cause yet

How the fire came about is not yet clear. The factory mainly produced juices and lemonades. On the videos of firefighters in the social networks nothing of this can be seen: only large black and gray charred lumps that still smoke a little in the extinguishing water.

Safety regulations are often disregarded

Large fires occur more often in Bangladesh. Many buildings are in poor condition, and safety regulations are often not complied with. Hundreds of people in Bangladesh have died in flames in recent years. Two years ago, at least 70 people died in a fire in several homes in Dhaka where chemicals were illegally stored.

The worst factory accident in the country’s history occurred in 2013: Rana Plaza, everyone in the country still remembers it. More than 1,000 people were killed when a multi-story building outside of Dhaka collapsed. It mainly housed textile companies, but also stores.