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Three workers die in fire at unauthorised Ashulia shoe factory
Three workers, including a teenaged girl, have died in a fire at what a government official said was an unauthorised shoe factory at Savar’s Ashulia near capital Dhaka.
Published : 23 Feb 2022, 03:36 PM
Updated : 23 Feb 2022, 09:08 PM
The disaster at the factory of Uniworld Footwear Limited-2 on Bangabandhu Road in Tongabari on Wednesday afternoon also left at least 12 others, including fire crews, injured.
Seven fire engines battled for nearly an hour to tame the flames, said Zahirul Islam, senior officer at DEPZ station of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.
The dead victims included two men and a woman. They could not be immediately identified.
Witnesses said the fire erupted around 5:30pm. The factory authorities called the fire service after they failed to contain it.
The entire factory was burnt as it had flammable chemicals, said Zahirul. The origin of the fire could not be confirmed.
The victims were Sumaiya Akter, 15, Shahanara Begum, 45, and an unidentified man.
Zahirul said two of them died from suffocation and the other was burnt alive.
Sarwar Alam, organising secretary of the Garment Industry League, said the factory has 100 workers who work in shifts.
Savar Upazila chief executive Mazharul Islam said the factory had no sort of authorisation, not even a trade licence.
The owner and officials could not be found, but they will face legal action, said Mazharul.
The local administration will provide Tk 25,000 to the families of the victims for their last rites.
Sudip Kumar Gope, a sub-inspector at Ashulia Police Station, said victims Sumaiya and Shahanara lived with their families near the factory.
Devastating factory fire incidents are common in Bangladesh. In July last year, more than 50 workers died in a fire at the factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj’s Rupganj.
One of the staircases to the rooftop of the factory was locked, a grim reminder of the 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire that claimed over 100 lives and prompted foreign buyers to start working for fire safety in Bangladeshi factories.
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