The eight killed in the May 8 fire at Tung Hai Sweater factory choked to death on toxic fumes.
A probe into the May 8 fire at Tung Hai Sweater Factory on Mirpur’s Darus Salam road shows the eight killed, including its managing director Mahbubur Rahman and additional deputy inspector general of police ZA Morshed, suffocated on toxic fumes.
The Inspectorate of Factories and Establishment dubbed the deaths “accidental” in its report submitted to the labour ministry on Monday.
The report identified the ironing section on the second floor of the 11-storey factory as the probable source of the fire. It said sparks from an electrical short-circuit fell on the wool, acrylic and cotton yarns and then raced through the building.
The inspection team, led by Deputy Chief Inspector Nreependra Nath Das, said the victims could have all survived if they had gone to the roof to escape the fire.
The eight were alive and unconscious when firefighters rescued them but later died in hospital. Apart from the MD and the additional deputy inspector, the dead were identified as the MD’s personal assistant, Nazmul, his friends Sohel Mostofa Bhuiyan Swapan and Emdadur Rahman Badal, along with the police official’s driver Ripon Chakma, peon Sahabuddin Biswas and the building’s painter, Mamun.
A member of the probe, Inspector Samshul Alam Khan, told the Dhaka Tribune that they only investigated the cause of the fire and calculated the compensation for affected workers. They have recommended compensating Nazmul’s family who was the only employee of the factory.
Dr Mostafizur Rahman was the third member of the three-member panel.
The probe pointed out the fire would have claimed more lives if it had broken out earlier since 1,800 workers were there until the end of their shift at 10pm, only 45minutes before it broke out.
