Narayanganj factory fire: 49 bodies recovered

Forty nine bodies were recovered after a massive fire raged at a factory building of Hashem Food and Beverage Ltd. in Karnagop area of Rupganj in Narayanganj on Friday afternoon, said fire service and civil defence officials.

Dhaka fire service and civil defence deputy director (development) Nur Hossain said they recovered 49 bodies as of 2:15pm on Friday and sent those to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The fire broke out at the ground floor of the six-storey building around 5:00pm Thursday. Immediately after the incident, two workers, Swapna Rani, 44, and Mina Akhter, 34, jumped from the building and died on the spot. Later, another worker, Mursalin, 28, who jumped from the third floor, succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) around 11:00pm.

The 3rd floor of the factory building was ablaze until filing of this report.

Around 7,000 workers work at the factory, but around 1000-1200 workers would work in the building that caught fire, said Abdul Jalil and Abu Samad, operators at the factory.

Narayanganj district administration has formed a five-member committee to investigate into the incident.

Speaking to Prothom Alo deputy commissioner Mostain Billah said additional deputy commissioner Shamim Byapari has been made the convener of the committee. The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven working days.

He further said the district administration will give Tk. 20,000 to families of each of the deceased and Tk. 10,000 for the families of critically injured.