Sad News From Bangladesh, 52 People Died In Juice Factory Fire

Firefighters put out a fire at Hashem Foods Ltd's factory. in the Rugganj district of Narayaganj, suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh/ ANTARA FOTO/REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/WSJ/djo

JAKARTA - Sad news from Bangladesh. At least 52 people were killed, 20 injured and injured in a fire at a juice factory in Bangladesh. The victims were believed to have died from being trapped in the fire.

It is known, the fire began to appear on Thursday night on the ground floor of the six-story factory.

"Three people died after jumping from the building to escape the fire and 49 charred bodies have been found so far," said Mustin Billah, Narayanganj district official.

"The fire is still burning on the top floor. Firefighters are trying to control it as chemicals and flammables are stored in the building."

He said the cause of the fire was not yet known.

"Plastics, flammable substances and chemicals make it difficult to extinguish the fire," said fire official Abdullah Al Arefin. He added that the intense heat from the fire cracked the factory building.

Al Arefin said each floor in the building covers about 2,350 square meters, but can only be accessed via two stairs. Many workers could not save themselves when the fire engulfed the stairs.

One of the doors from the stairs to the roof was locked, he said.

"We saved 25 people after installing stairs to the roof of the building. We might be able to save others if we could reach the roof," said Debashih Bardan, deputy director of the national fire service.

Many workers were injured while jumping from the second and third floors to escape, said Shah Alam, another official with the fire service.

When relatives of the missing workers protested in the factory area, a mother looking for her child, Nazma Begum, screamed, "There is no justice! Where is my son?"

The factory, which makes mango juice, is in the Narayanganj district, 20 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, and is managed by Hashem Food and Beverage, a subsidiary of the multinational Sajeeb Group.

Narayanganj in central Bangladesh is full of factories making everything from hemp rope to textiles.

Disasters resulting from poor building safety standards are common in Bangladesh, especially in the textile sector which employs millions of people and accounts for the largest economy.