Bangladesh garment factory fire kills workers

At least 10 people die in blaze near Dhaka just months after more than 1,100 people died in factory collapse

theguardian.com, Associated Press in Dhaka, Tuesday 8 October 2013

The scene of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in April. Photograph:
Kevin Frayer/AP

A fire on Tuesday at a garment factory outside Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, has killed at least 10 people.

Fire official Zafar Ahmed said 10 bodies were found inside the four-storey building housing the Aswad garment factory in Gazipur.

Journalist Iqbal Ahmed said the fire occurred when the factory was closed for the day, but some employees were inside working overtime.

Farhaduzzaman, another fire official, said the blaze spread to two nearby buildings that also housed garment factories in the same group, but that firefighters had doused the flames in two of the buildings and were seeking to bring the blaze under control in the third building. He could not immediately say whether any people were still trapped inside.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Harsh and often unsafe working conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry drew global attention after the collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory building in April killed more than 1,100 people. The industry has experienced numerous fires, including one last November that killed 112 workers.

Bangladesh earns $20bn (£12.4bn) a year from garment exports, mainly to the United States and Europe. The sector employs about 4 million workers, mostly women.

Authorities in Bangladesh and global clothing companies have pledged to improve safety standards.

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