Physinews Reports: At least 25 people have died in a huge blaze
at a packaging factory in Bangladesh, which
firefighters are battling to contain.
Around 100 people were working at the site
when the fire started in the boiler room of the
Tampaco Foils factory in the industrial town
of Tongi, north of the country's capital
Dhaka.
Seventy people were injured, many of them in
a critical condition, according to Parvez Mia,
a doctor at the Tongi government hospital.
Police said there may still be some workers
trapped inside the four-storey building.
There may also have been chemicals stored
on the ground floor, which officials say would
explain how the fire spread so rapidly after it
started at 6am local time.
Mohammad Rokon, 35, was one of those
who escaped the fire with minor injuries.
He said: "I was working inside the office room
when I heard an explosion and felt a tremor.
"Then suddenly the ceiling started to fall on
me.
"I almost became unconscious but I forced
myself to go out with the help of my phone's
flashlight."
The fire comes as many people prepared to
celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
The packaging factory supplies brands
including British American Tobacco and
Nestle Bangladesh, according to its website.
An investigation into the fire has been
launched by Bangladesh's factory inspection
department.
Fires and accidents are common in
Bangladeshi factories, particularly in the
clothing industry, which is the world's
second-largest.
Workers have little chance of escape, with
building regulations rarely enforced,
chemicals badly stored and many fire
exits blocked or padlocked to prevent theft.
Four years ago at least 111 workers were
killed in a fire at a nine-storey garment
factory in the Ashulia industrial area.
Six months later, 1,138 people died after the
Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed.
More photos from the scene
at a packaging factory in Bangladesh, which
firefighters are battling to contain.
Around 100 people were working at the site
when the fire started in the boiler room of the
Tampaco Foils factory in the industrial town
of Tongi, north of the country's capital
Dhaka.
Seventy people were injured, many of them in
a critical condition, according to Parvez Mia,
a doctor at the Tongi government hospital.
Police said there may still be some workers
trapped inside the four-storey building.
There may also have been chemicals stored
on the ground floor, which officials say would
explain how the fire spread so rapidly after it
started at 6am local time.
Mohammad Rokon, 35, was one of those
who escaped the fire with minor injuries.
He said: "I was working inside the office room
when I heard an explosion and felt a tremor.
"Then suddenly the ceiling started to fall on
me.
"I almost became unconscious but I forced
myself to go out with the help of my phone's
flashlight."
The fire comes as many people prepared to
celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
The packaging factory supplies brands
including British American Tobacco and
Nestle Bangladesh, according to its website.
An investigation into the fire has been
launched by Bangladesh's factory inspection
department.
Fires and accidents are common in
Bangladeshi factories, particularly in the
clothing industry, which is the world's
second-largest.
Workers have little chance of escape, with
building regulations rarely enforced,
chemicals badly stored and many fire
exits blocked or padlocked to prevent theft.
Four years ago at least 111 workers were
killed in a fire at a nine-storey garment
factory in the Ashulia industrial area.
Six months later, 1,138 people died after the
Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed.
More photos from the scene
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