52 killed in deadly fire at Bangladesh food factory

The blaze broke out at the factory in Rupganj, an industrial town 25km (15 miles) east of capital Dhaka, on Thursday afternoon and was still burning nearly 24 hours later, Aljazeera reported.

Police and witnesses said the fire broke out at Hashem Food and Beverage factory in Rupganj at about 5pm (11:00 GMT) on Thursday.

“Once the fire is under control, we will conduct a search and rescue operation inside. Then we can confirm any further casualties, if any,” fire service spokesman Debashish Bardhan said.

About 30 people were injured and hundreds of distraught relatives and other workers waited anxiously as emergency services brought out bodies from the burning building.
Police initially gave a toll of three dead but it rose dramatically as firefighters reached the upper floors and started bringing out dozens of bodies of trapped workers.

The charred victims were piled in a fleet of ambulances to take them to mortuaries amid anguished shouts and tears from people watching in the streets.

Dinu Moni Sharma, head of the Dhaka fire department, said the fire took place because highly flammable chemicals and plastics had been stockpiled inside.

RHM/PR