The BM Container Depot in Chittagong’s Sitakunda had only a single fire exit apart from the main entrance.
The pocket gate which is called the emergency exit was used as the connecting gate for workers to go into their quarters in the 24-acre compound.
Rescuers working at the scene alleged that many workers could have gotten out of the depot to safety if there were more ways to leave the compound.
The fire, which broke out at the depot late on Saturday, has so far killed 44 people and injured over 450.
The death toll may rise further as many of the injured are still in a critical state.
Fire service and the depot sources told reporters that they recovered a huge cache of chemicals, which hampered the rescue operation.
Lax enforcement of safety standards and unsafe working conditions in its factories makes fires a tragedy of the commons in the country, largely in the apparel sector which accounts for about 80% of the country’s exports.
At least 2,000 workers and other staff died in at least 26 blazes in factories over the past two decades, a news report suggested in July last year citing the International Labor Organisation.
