A fire in a plastics factory on near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has killed at least 13 people with more victims gravely injured, officials said Thursday.
Seven people died at hospital after they were admitted with severe burns, Tahmina Sattar, a physician at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital said on Thursday.
Five others employees of the factory succumbed to their injuries later in the day, Nasir Uddin, a medical officer at the hospital, said. ‘Eleven more people were put on life support as their condition deteriorated,’ Uddin added.
Firefighters found the body of another worker on the premises of the Prime Pet and Plastic Industries factory in Keraniganj, police officer Ramnada Sarker said.
The fire had broken out on Wednesday. It took firefighters two hours to contain the blaze, which injured at least 35 workers who had tried to douse the flames with fire extinguishers installed in the one-storey tin-roofed factory.
The fire might have originated from a gas stove and spread quickly after coming into contact with inflammables being used for plastic products, Sarker said.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence department has launched an investigation into the incident.
Zakir Hossain, a survivor, told local news website Bangla News that nearly 150 people had been working at the plastic producing unit when the fire broke out.
The factory produces and exports disposable trays, plates and cups, according to the company's social media page.
Nasrul Hamid, a state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid, said the factory was established without proper regulatory approval.
Deaths from fires in Bangladesh are frequent due to a lack of safety measures and lax implementation of the law.
At least 154 people were killed and more than 350 wounded in a total of 22,283 fires across Bangladesh from January to November this year, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence department's statistics.
