Worker killed in factory fire

A worker has been killed in a fire at a garment factory in Dhaka’s Kamrangirchar.

Three other workers were taken ill after inhaling smoke.

The fire broke out around 6:30am on Thursday at the Mayer Doya factory in Sultanganj, fire service control room official Nilufar Yasmin said.

Two fire-fighting units doused the flames around 7:30am.

The victim has been identified as Kabir Hossain, 30.

The injured – ‘Shaheen’, 32, ‘Rubel’, 30, and ‘Sohagh’, 30, -- have been admitted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital’s (DMCH) burn unit.

Kamrangirchar Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Kabir Hossain Hawlader said the four workers were sleeping when the fire started.

They were rescued and rushed to the DMCH.

The burn unit’s resident doctor, Dr Partha Shankar Paul, said parts of Kabir’s body had been badly burnt and that he had died before reaching the hospital.

The three others did not sustain burns but fell ill after inhaling smoke, the doctor said.

Fire service officials suspect that an electric short-circuit might have sparked the fire.

They estimate a Tk 4 million loss in the blaze.

Inspector Hawlader, quoting factory owner Hemayet Uddin, said 25 machines had been damaged.