Three female workers killed, dozens injured in juice factory fire in Bangladesh

DHAKA: JULY 9 – At least three female workers died and dozens were injured as a juice factory in Bangladesh’s Narayanganj district, about 20 km from the capital Dhaka, caught fire on Thursday, a senior police official said Friday.

A total of 18 firefighting units managed to bring the fire at the six-storey building under control, after hours of fighting, the district’s police chief Md Zayedul Alam told Xinhua.

He said, “Charred bodies of three female workers were recovered shortly after the fire.”

Apart from the victims, he said 30 people were injured in the fire and they were rushed to different hospitals.

But local media reports put the number of injured people at 50.

Local media reports also said the fire in the factory has not yet been completely doused though it was almost under control since last night. TV reports showed fires were still raging in some parts of the factory.

A spokesman of the factory was not immediately available for comments. The exact cause of the fire remained unclear.

Md Abdul Al Arefin, Narayanganj District Fire Service and Civil Defence deputy director said that they had come to know that the fire originated from a welding accident at around 5:30 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The official said the death toll may go up as many people have sustained critical injuries.

-XINHUA