Fire in Opex-Sinha Group thread factory

A fire on Monday at a thread factory of the Opex & Sinha Group in Narayanganj destroyed a large amount of raw cotton and damaged machineries.

Officials said the fire originated from an electric short-circuit around 2am in the factory that is located in Sonargaon’s Kanchpur Industrial area.

“The fire spread quickly after starting from the weeding section, where thread is spun out of raw cotton,” Demra fire service’s Senior Station Officer Shawkat Ali Zoardar told bdnews24.com.

He said two fire-fighting units from the Demra station and another from Narayanganj’s Hajiganj station rushed to the spot and controlled the fire after three hours of frantic efforts.

Zoarder said there were no casualties as the factory was closed.

Opex-Sinha Group’s administrative officer Delowar Hossain said they were yet to assess exact extent of the losses.

Factory fires are not uncommon in Bangladesh, the largest exporter of readymade garments after China. They claim many lives and is generally blamed on poor electric-wiring, unsafe working environment and lax security measures.

In November last year, a devastating fire claimed more than 100 lives in a garment factory in the Ashulia Industrial Zone. A recent fire in a Mohammadpur garment factory led to a stampede, killing seven female workers.

Bangladesh has around 4,500 garments factories.