Thirteen people, including 10 men and three women, died and another three received burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a plastic factory in the capital’s Mirpur area yesterday.
Of the dead, four could be identified - Rashia Begum, 40, Shabnam Parvin, 27, Billal Hossain, 26, and Mokhlesur Rahman Bachchu, 40.
The three injured - security supervisor Towhidul Islam, 50, security guard Kamal Hossain, 35, and worker Robiul Islam, 35 - were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and were said to be in a critical condition.
The severity of the burn made it difficult to perfectly identify the bodies but relatives gathered at the hospital at night to see if they could recognise their near and dear ones.
The factory named Affortade Product of Consumer Commodity Ltd (APCCO), a four-storey building with a tin roof, is located inside the Nasim Industrial Estate on Zoo Road in Mirpur 1.
Fire Service Director General Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said: “The fire originated from an electric short circuit on the ground floor of the building and quickly spread throughout the building after a boiler on the same floor exploded.”
Dr Ahmedul Kabir of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital said: “Four dead bodies were brought to us. We have managed to identify that one of them was a man and the other was a woman.”
Set up in 2006, the factory used plastic and foam to make disposable household goods. It used to be run on two shifts: 10am-10pm and 10pm-10am.
Factory sources said around 75-80 workers used to work in each shift.
Fire Service DG Khan said: “Around 40 people were working inside the factory when the fire broke out.”
Fire Service Operations Officer Maj Shakil told the Dhaka Tribune: “The fire broke out around 5:50pm and we managed to bring the fire under control around 6:25pm. A total of 18 fire fighting units worked at the scene.”
Witness Zahid Hasan, a neighbour of the factory, told Dhaka Tribune: “I was standing beside the factory when I heard two loud blasts. By the time I went to check out what had happened, two covered-vans had already caught fire.”
“The entire area was filled with smoke and stench of burning chemical,” he said.
Sajib Islam, helper of one of the burnt covered-vans, said: “We came from Savar with our trunks full of polythene materials and plastic.
We were getting ready to leave after unloading the cargo, a blast occurred and suddenly a fireball hit our vehicle.”
Machine operator at the factory Mamun said he was on the fourth floor when he heard a bang and quickly went to the roof. “I jumped at the nearby building to save myself.”
Factory owner Anisuzzaman could not be traced since the fire broke out, a police official informed.
Fire Service official Shakil said: “There is a huge stock of chemical and flammable substances inside the building. So, the building is still not fully out of danger.”