At least 10 killed in Gazipur fan factory fire

At least 10 people have died when a fire ripped through a fan factory in Gazipur.

The fire started on the second floor of the three-storey factory of Luxury Fan in Kashorita in Sadar Upazila around 5:30pm on Sunday, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The rescuers found the bodies after four units of the fire service brought the fire under control around 7:30pm, Gazipur Fire Service Station Officer Md Zakaria Khan told the media.

The victims have been identified as ‘Uttam’, 25, Mohammad Rashed, 25, ‘Foysal’, 25, ‘Parvez’, 18, and Mohammad Shamim, 26, of Gazipur and Faridul Islam, 18, of Rangpur, ‘Limon’, 20, of Dinajpur, ‘Tarikul’, 20 of Mymensingh, ‘Sajal’, 20, of Narsigndi, and ‘Yusuf’, 30, of Brahmanbaria. 

Zakaria said the workers were trapped inside after the fire originated near the gate.

It appeared that they were suffocated, according to the fire service official.

Several people were injured, Zakaria said but could not confirm how many.

There were 19 workers in the factory when the fire erupted.

Two of the injured were admitted to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital with “minor burns” on their hands, legs and backs, Resident Medical Officer Pranay Bhushan Das said.

Gazipur Deputy Commissioner SM Tarikul Islam and Superintendent of Police Shamsunnahar visited the site.

The district administration has formed a committee of five, headed by Additional District Magistrate Shahinur Islam, to investigate the incident, Tarikul told bdnews24.com. The panel has been given 10 working days to report.

Tarikul also said the families of the 10 victims would be given Tk 25,000 for funeral.

The authorities were yet to the find out the cause of the fire and assess the extent of damage.

SP Shamsunnahar said they believe negligence was behind the fire.

Jahid Hasan Dhali, the managing director of the fan factory, told the media that the families of the dead workers would be compensated as per the government rules.

“Besides this, the next of their kin will get salary and allowances for life,” he added.

The fire incident occurred within a week of another fire at a plastics factory in Dhaka’s Keraniganj claimed a total of 19 lives. Five of the Keraniganj fire victims succumbed to their injuries on Sunday.