Gazipur clothing factory fire is still burning

Firefighters have not been able to tame the blaze at the Gazipur apparel factory seven and a half hours after it caught fire.

"The fire is still blazing. The fire is gutting clothing and various materials," the factory's manager, Nazmunnahar Kemu told bdnews24.com on Sunday night.

“We can see smoke coming out of second, third and fourth floor of the seven storey building but cannot get up there,” Deputy Assistant Director of Gazipur fire services, Akhteruzzaman Liton, told bdnews24.com around 8:30pm.

He said 14 of their units from Dhaka, Joydebpur, Sreepur and Mymensingh’s Bhaluka were working to put it out.

Liton added that their efforts were being hampered, as the steel, with which the building was built, had got very hot due to the fire.

Joydepur fire station officer Hasibul Islam said they were also failing to supply enough water since the structure did not have enough windows or doors.

“The building’s steel frame has already weakened due to the heat and if the fire is not tamed anytime soon, it is going to collapse.”

Islam added the fire broke out on the second floor store around 2:15pm during the lunch break when most workers and executives were outside the building.

“It reached the fourth floor in a matter of minutes.”

However, the fire officials are yet to identify the cause of the blaze at the factory which employs nearly 3,000 workers.