The injured--Alamgir, Solaiman, Titu, Ershad, Akash, Russell, Sagar and Sajib--were admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.

Of them, Sajib is eight years old while the rest are aged between 17 to 21 years.

Witnesses said when a flourescent light inside the factory at Mir Hajirbagh burst, sparks fell into the drum that in the blink of an eye blew up with a bang.

"Out of nowhere, splashes of burning chemicals hit us as we were working on the first floor of the two-storey factory," Alamgir told reporters at the DMCH.

The fire, however, did not cause any serious damage to the factory as locals doused it before the firefighters reached there, fire-brigade officials said.

Meanwhile, in another incident in Mirpur-1, fire gutted five shops at Hazrat Shah Ali School and College Market last night.

Started by an electrical short-circuit at a shop at 9:55pm, the fire soon swept across the adjacent shops, police said.

Three fire-fighting units rushed to the scene immediately and put out the flames in about half an hour.