The Fire Service has recovered 16 bodies from the fire at Shialbari in Mirpur. It has given some initial explanations as to why so many lives were lost. Officials suspect that after an explosion at a nearby chemical warehouse, toxic white smoke or poisonous gas spread through the area, which proved deadly.
The Fire Service said the blaze quickly reached the “developed stage” or third phase, causing victims to lose consciousness. The rooftop door of the garment factory building, from which the bodies were recovered, had two padlocks on it, preventing workers from escaping to the top. It has also been initially learnt that neither the garment factory building nor the chemical warehouse had any fire safety certificate.
Fire Service director (operation and maintenance) Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury shared the information while briefing journalists at the scene around 7:30 pm on Tuesday, as the fire control and search operations continued at the garment factory building and the chemical warehouse.
A fire broke out at the factory building on Road No 3 in Shialbari and at a chemical warehouse across the road, Fire Service officials said, around 11:30 am today. Twelve Fire Service units have been working to bring the blaze under control.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said the fire in the garment factory building has been brought under control, but the blaze at the chemical warehouse is still burning. Smoke and flames are still visible there, and it will take time to fully control the fire. The warehouse contained six to seven types of chemicals, he added.
The fire service official said 16 bodies have been recovered from the site. The bodies were found at various locations on the second and third floors of the garment factory building. Their condition is such that identification will not be possible without DNA testing, he said.
The fire service could not provide any specific information on how the fire started. Earlier in the afternoon, in response to query, Mohammad Tajul Islam said those who first arrived to extinguish the fire had seen flames on both sides of the chemical warehouse and the garment factory.
However, several witnesses said there is a ‘wash unit’ next to the chemical warehouse. The fire started there first, and when it spread to the nearby chemical warehouse and a loud explosion occurred. The fire then spread to the five-storey garment factory.
The third and fourth floors of the factory building housed a garment factory named RN Fashion, which produced jerseys. On the second floor was a T-shirt printing factory called Smart Printing, and on the fifth floor operated another printing unit named Bismillah Fashion. After the fire broke out, workers tried to escape the building by various means, but many became trapped.
Since the incident, neither the owner nor the staff of the chemical warehouse have been reachable, Fire Brigade Director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said. He told journalists that initial investigations show neither the garment factory nor the chemical warehouse had any fire safety plan or licence.