Fire at N’ganj factory

A fire raced through a spinning mill early Saturday, gutting piles of raw materials and machinery in Narayanganj, a police official said.

But no casualties were reported after the fire broke out around 5:30 am at Abdullah Spinning Mill in the district’s Tarab area.

Many of the spinning and garment factories in the area operate night shifts.

Rupganj Police Station Officer in-Charge Mainur Rahman said some 200 workers of the factory escaped unhurt.

Rahman said the fire apparently originated from a short circuit and three fire fighting units of Demra Fire Station doused the flames.

The extent of losses in the fire could not be determined immediately.

The latest incident took place after a November fire killed 111 in Ashulia industrial belt while another blaze in Dhaka left seven workers dead last month.

Repeated fire incidents in the country’s burgeoning sector have triggered outcry at home and abroad over poor safety arrangement in many of the factories, which supply garments to major Western retailers such as Wal-Mart and H&M.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) says it is working with authorities to improve safety standard in the sector.

The sector earns about $20 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe.