Keraniganj factory fire: Another victim succumbs to injuries as death toll hits 14

Another victim of a deadly fire at a plastics factory in Keraniganj has succumbed to his injuries, raising the death toll from the blaze to 14.

The victim, identified as the 14-year-old ‘Asad’, died during treatment at the burns unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 7 am on Saturday.

He suffered burns on around 50 percent of his body, said Samanta Lal Sen, the coordinator of the burns unit at DMCH.

As many as 17 others are battling for their lives at the hospital, among whom, nine are on life support, he added.

A devastating engulfed the Prime Pet and Plastic Industry factory in Keraniganj’s Chunkutia on Dec 11.

Firemen pulled out one body from the factory while 33 others were hospitalised. Thirteen of the injured subsequently died in hospital.

The authorities have handed over the bodies of 12 victims to their loved ones.

The plastics factory was operating without permission for five years, according to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.

“It was an illegal factory. It had managed a temporary permission from the fire service on condition that it would increase the number of exits within 90 days, but it did not do so. The factory had only one exit,” the department’s Deputy Inspector General Ahmed Belal told bdnews24.com.