13 burnt dead in Mirpur factory fire
At least 13 people, including two women, were burnt to death as a devastating fire swept through a plastic packaging factory at Mirpur-1 in Dhaka this evening.
Several workers of the factory suffered severe burn injuries. Three of them -- Tawhidul Islam, Kamal Hossain and Rabiul--were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Fire fighters pulled out eight charred bodies from the ground floor of the six-storey APCCO Complex located on the back side of Sony cinema hall.
Thirteen bodies were sent to the DMCH morgue, a source at the more told The Daily Star.
The bodies could not be identified as those have been charred beyond recognition.
Locals said the fire spread to the entire building immediately after an explosion around 5:25pm.
“I heard a loud explosion inside the building. Later, I saw a covered van burning while a flame of fire on the top of the building,” Zahid Hossain, a local who was near the building during the incident, told The Daily Star.
The van, parked at the main entrance of the building, caught fire as several gas cylinders exploded on the ground floor, said the firemen.
Locals said the building with its tin-shed top floor was being used for recycling plastic and making packages for food. About 70 workers were inside the building when the fire broke out.
“Many of them came out but others got trapped inside as the fire engulfed the building quickly,” said a worker, Imran Hossain Khan, adding that 150 persons work in the factory in two shifts.
Eighteen firefighting units brought the blaze under control about two hours of their hectic efforts.
“We pulled out six bodies from the wreckage and sent those to Mirpur Model Police Station,” Director (Operation) of Fire Services and Civil Defence Maj AKM Shakil Newaz said.
“I saw few more bodies inside the building,” he told The Daily Star.
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