N’ganj factory fire toll jumps to 52

The death toll from the factory fire at Rupganj, Narayanganj jumped to 52 as firefighters started tallying fatalities in the massive blaze, report agencies.

"At least 49 bodies have been recovered from the debris of the building during the search operation," said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Narayanganj district.

Earlier, 3 deaths from the accident were confirmed by the authorities of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and US Bangla Medical College and Hospital Rupganj.

The massive fire that swept through the six-storey building housing a juice factory of Hashem Foods Ltd at Bhulta Karnagop in Rupganj, Narayanganj broke out at 5 pm on Thursday.

"Though the fire was brought under control around 12:35 am Friday, firefighters were engaged to douse the flame on the sixth floor of the building as pocket fires continued to break out," said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of the fire service and civil defence in Narayanganj district.

"The death toll might go up as the search operation is still ongoing on the fifth and sixth floors of the building," said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the police (Dhaka range) Habibur Rahman.

Abu Bakar Siddique, one of the injured, said, "We sustained injuries as we jumped in a hurry out of panic to get out of the building."

The numbers of both the injured and deceased may rise as seven to eight thousand workers were working inside the factory, he said.

Russel Sikder, duty officer at the control room of Fire Service and Civil Defence (headquarters), said 18 units of firefighters have been working in the building to completely douse the flame.

Deputy assistant director Arefin, meanwhile, said the fire broke out from the second floor of the building.

Meanwhile, another report adds: The factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj's Rupganj, the site of a devastating blaze, lacked an adequate fire safety system, the Fire Service has said.

The building did not have any fire extinguisher or an emergency exit route, according to officials.

Lt Col Zillur Rahman, the Fire Service's director of operations, said the building, spanning approximately 35,000 square feet, only had two exit staircases.

However, a building of this size needed to have at least four to five staircases, according to him.

The factory of Hashem Foods Ltd, a unit of Sajeeb Group, contained a variety of papers, plastics and chemicals. But firefighters could not find any fire extinguishing equipment inside.

To make matters worse, the landing of one of the stairways had been engulfed by the fire, leaving many workers stranded inside the burning building.

Many lives could have been saved from the blaze had the exit staircase in the building been left unlocked, according to a fire service official.

"We rescued 25 people after setting a ladder to the rooftop. We could have saved more if others could reach the rooftop," said Debashish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The six-floor building had two staircases but one of them had its exit on the rooftop locked, he said.

Consequently, those who were on the fourth floor could neither get to the rooftop nor the ground floor, as the staircase landing had been engulfed in flames, according to Debabish.

However, he did not comment on the fire-fighting system in the factory and said a probe panel will look into the matter.

"We're now trying to reach the fifth and sixth floor. The floors are huge but there have small compartments inside, which has made it difficult to put out the fire", said Fire Service Director Siddique Mohammad Zulfikar Rahman.

The thick smoke billowing out of the building was also hindering access to the rooftop, according to Zulfikar.

Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the loss of lives and belongings in a factory fire at Rupganj in Narayanganj.

In a condolence message, the President prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family members.

He wished for the early recovery of the injured in the blaze.

The Prime Minister prayed for the salvation of the departed souls and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved families, said PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Munnujan Sufian Friday announced financial assistance for the relatives of Narayanganj fire victims.

"Necessary assistance will be provided to the relatives of the deceased workers from the Labour Welfare Foundation fund under the Ministry of Labour and Employment," she said, expressing condolence over the death of huge workers by the devastating fire.

The state minister, however, said the injured labours now undergoing treatment also will be provided assistance for their treatment.

After the incident, she instructed the concerned officials to supervise the medical treatment of the injured workers and keep update information about the fatalities of the incident.

In another development, the government has formed three probe committees to unearth the reasons behind the fire incident at Sejan Juice factory at Rupganj in Narayanganj as at least 52 persons have so far been killed following the fire broke out at the factory on Thursday afternoon.

"Apart from district administration probe committee, two more committees have also been formed," said an official release here today.

Other two committees have been formed with Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence and the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.

"The elite force RAB will assist these three probe committees. The real criminals will be identified through the investigation by these three probe bodies," Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, Director General (DG) of RAB, told the reporters after visiting the spot.