Shoe factory blast kills 1

One worker died while at least seven others were critically injured in a fire caused by a chemical drum explosion at a shoe sole factory in West Islamabagh of the old Dhaka yesterday.
The fire broke out around 4:30pm killing Sabbir Hossain, 22, employee of Shikder Plastic Factory, on the spot.
Injured workers Dipu, 13, Sharif, 18, Rubel, 22, Babu, 25, Ujjal, 26, Sohel, 30, and Sentu, 35, have been admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital with 19 to 90 percent burn.
After visiting the spot, Station Officer of Lalbagh Fire Station Nasrin Sultana told The Daily Star that two fire engines had doused the flame immediately.
She said fire fighters had found the blown-up chemical drum, labelled as "Thinner", a solvent used to dissolve paints, outside the tin-shed factory housed on the roof of a two-storey building.
Eye witness Arif Hossain, worker of an adjacent factory who was the first to respond to the accident, said: "Sparks on to the chemical drum from a nearby welding work originated the fire. At that time, workers were spraying the soles. The sprayers soon caught fire and spread the blaze."
Arif said another fire had broken out in the same factory on the third day of this Ramadan injuring three people.