Death toll in Hashem Foods factory fire tops 50

Emergency workers have recovered at least 49 bodies from the burning factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj’s Rupganj since Friday morning. That brought the death toll to 52.

Debashish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed the latest death count. “We’re still continuing the search,” he told bdnews24.com. The top floors of the six-building are still ablaze, he added.

"Each floor is 35,000 square feet but there are only two sets of stairs in the building. However, many workers could not get out as the fire spread to the stairs," said Siddique Mohammed Zulfikar, a director of the Fire Service.

"We are trying to get to the 4th and 5th floors. The floors are expansive but there are many small rooms inside, which is making it difficult to put out the fire. The smoke is also causing us problems with reaching the roof."

The bodies have been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy, Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj's Fire Service, said on Friday.

The factory, which manufactures various juice, soft drinks and food items in the Upazila's Karnagop area caught fire around 5:30 pm on Thursday. Three deaths were reported in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

Although the blaze was almost tamed early Friday, the fire flared once again on the fifth and sixth floors in the morning.

"We are trying to extinguish the blaze using ladders but it is proving difficult to bring it under control as there are plastic and chemical materials in that part of the building,” Arefin had said earlier.

The severe heat from the blaze caused cracks in the building. The windows, including the aluminium structures, fell apart, with plumes of black smoke billowing out of the factory.

"There's no justice. I have never sought help from anyone when I provided education to my son until HSC. Where is my beloved son?" said Nazma, mother of Yasin Ripon, a worker.

Her son used to work at the chocolate unit on the fourth floor, Nazma said. He could not come out of the burning building.

The Rupganj Upazila administration has drawn up a list of 47 missing workers based on statements from relatives.

Authorities of Hashem Foods Ltd, a unit of Sajeeb Group, have not revealed the number of workers who were inside the factory when the fire broke out.