At least 52 people died in a fire at a food and beverages factory in Bangladesh’s Narayanganj city on Friday, The Dhaka Tribune reported. Twenty-six workers were injured as they jumped from the burning building, the AP reported.
The fire broke out on Thursday night at the six-storey building of Hashem Foods Limited in Rupganj area, which is close to the capital Dhaka. Firefighters brought the blaze under control early on Friday, but it soon broke out again.
Three people had died on Thursday but on Friday, firefighters recovered 49 bodies from the building. “Many others are feared dead,” Debashish Vardhan, the deputy director of Dhaka Fire Service, told the newspaper. “The rescue operation is underway.” The toll is likely to increase as firefighters are yet to search two floors of the building.
According to one of the injured men, 7,000 to 8,000 people were in the building when the fire broke out, United News of Bangladesh reported.
Eighteen fire tenders from Narayanganj and Dhaka were at the spot. As of Friday afternoon, firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze, according to The Dhaka Tribune.
Firefighters said the presence of plastic materials and chemicals in the building made it difficult for them to control the blaze.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid expressed shock over the deaths. He offered his condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
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