64 injured as false fire alarm triggers garment stampede

At least 64 garment workers, mostly women, were injured as they stampeded over a false fire alarm in an Ashulia factory yesterday.
The railing of a staircase collapsed when the workers were trying to rush out of the six-storey factory of Envoy Group at around 7:50am, police said.
The alarm rang on its own when a worker was repairing a plastic cover of the fire alarm box, said Mostafa Kamal, an inspector of Ashulia Police Station.
The railing of the staircase between the ground and first floors of the factory of 6,000 workers fell down due to the huge rush, he said.
The false fire alarm panicked the workers and led to the stampede, said Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Group.
The injured were admitted to different hospitals and clinics, said Murshedy, also a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
A worker, who broke her left arm, is now receiving treatment at the city's National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, he said.
“If necessary, we will shift her to a private hospital,” Murshedy said.
However, the factory resumed production after the lunch breaks, he said.
Chief Operating Officer of the Centre for Woman and Child Health Rafiqul Islam said his hospital gave treatment to 64 workers.
“All of them were released by 1pm after giving necessary treatment. But many of them need bed rest for a few days.”