Ashulia factory fire death toll 109

Fire comes under control around 5:55am Sunday

At least 109 people were killed in the fire that gutted several floors of the eight-storied factory near Dhaka Export Processing Zone in Ashulia Saturday night. Photo: STAR/Palash Khan.

The death toll from the fire that raged through a garment factory in Ashulia rose to 109 till Sunday afternoon.

Farhaduzzaman, duty officer of fire brigade, said a total of 100 charred bodies were recovered Sunday from three floors of the eight-storey building.

Among them, 69 bodies were recovered at 4th floor, 21 at 5th floor and 10 at 6th floor, he said.

The fire brigade official said, “It is hard to identify the bodies as those were burnt badly.”

The bodies were kept at the ground of nearby Nischintapur Primary School, he added.

Meanwhile, relatives and family members were crying, as they failed to identify their near and dear ones among the deceased.

The fire that started at Tazreen Fashion near Dhaka Export Processing Zone in Ashulia on Saturday evening came under control around 5:55am Sunday, Farhaduzzaman said.

Besides, death toll could rise as several people went missing, he also said.

 Earlier on Saturday night, nine deaths were recorded.

Police, fire-fighters and witnesses on Saturday said those killed in the incident did not suffer burns, but they died after jumping off different floors of the eight-storey Tazreen Fashion at Nischintapur in a bid to escape the blaze that started on the ground floor around 6:50pm.

Meanwhile, Siddiqur Rahman, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The Daily Star that the BGMEA will provide Tk one lakh to each of the death victim’s family.

Delowar Hossain, managing director of the factory, said around 300 workers were inside the building during the accident.

Source: The Daily Star