The police on Monday confirmed the identities of the three people who had died in a fire at the M&U Trims factory in Sreepur upazila, Gazipur, with the authorities still investigating the cause of the blaze.
The deceased were Majmul Haque, 21, from Lalmonirhat; Sohag Sarkar, 32, from Dinajpur; and Shaon, 22, from Gopalganj. The victims were employed as painters at the factory.
Their bodies are at Shaheed Taj Uddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination.
At the Meghna Group-owned M&U Trims (button) factory in Sreepur municipality, relatives of deceased worker Shaon were seen waiting at the factory gate in the morning.
They refused to speak to journalists and stayed near the entrance despite being urged by security personnel to move away.
A total of nine workers, including the deceased, were engaged in painting when the fire erupted on Sunday afternoon.
Sohon, a survivor, said Majmul, Sohag and Shaon had been burnt to death.
According to the register at Sreepur Upazila Health Complex, the severely injured include Zakir Hossain, 40, Roni, 30, Nazmul, 25, Khokon Mia, 35, Lutfor, 42, and Sohon himself.
They were transferred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital later in the day.
What officials have said
During an inspection of the factory premises, senior officials, including Gazipur Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Aminul Islam, Sreepur police station OC Jainal Abedin Mondol and Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Inspector Aminul Islam, were present.
Local journalists were initially denied entry but were allowed in before noon.
A security guard at the burnt production floor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the factory employed 247 machine operators and 14 staff members.
According to him, the fire destroyed 50 turning machines and 30 polishing machines.
He added that the number of casualties was not higher as the fire had broken out during a lunch break.
DIFE Inspector Aminul Islam said the fire had likely started in a tin-shed warehouse on the southern side, where waste chemicals had been stored.
However, the absence of electrical wiring in the area raises questions.
"We are unsure about why or how the fire started. We have to find out if the painters might have been smoking or used fire to melt the paint.”
The inspector added that the blaze had burnt the factory's electrical wiring, rendering the CCTV cameras inoperative and making it difficult to determine the exact cause of the fire.
Sreepur Municipality Executive Officer Rafiqul Islam said the authorities were looking into the files of the factory, established in 2015, to confirm if it had necessary approvals, such as environmental clearance and structural permits.
He noted that the tin-shed structure storing chemicals appeared to have been recently constructed without municipal approval.
Meanwhile, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sajib Ahmed said no formal investigation committee had been formed yet.
“Initial investigations are being carried out internally by the municipality, fire service and DIFE. However, this cannot be termed a formal investigation committee.”
“Considering humanitarian concerns, we will coordinate with the families of the deceased to arrange for their burial,” the UNO added.
The administration would also evaluate whether a chemical factory should be allowed to operate within a densely populated municipal area, Sajib mentioned.
Gazipur Fire Service Deputy Director (DD) Md Mamun said the explosion of chemical drums had filled the surrounding area with smoke.
Approximately 120 chemical drums had been stored in the storeroom adjacent to the production floor, he added.
“With the help of our firefighters and local residents, we managed to safely remove the drums to a secure distance, preventing a more catastrophic fire. Preliminary findings indicate the fire originated in the waste chemical warehouse and quickly spread to the dust storage area on the west side,” the fire service official said.
Mamun said the extent of the damage would be confirmed after further investigation.
Additional SP Aminul Islam said no one had yet been able to determine how the fire had started at the M&U Trims factory.
Police were trying to gather information by speaking with the survivors, he said, adding that hopefully, the actual cause of the incident would become clear soon.
He mentioned that no one had filed any formal complaints yet. “We are waiting to see if any of the injured file a case. If they do not, the police will take action. We have already assigned an officer to lead the investigation.”