Bangladesh factory blaze kills 25, 100 hurt

A raging fire tore through a huge garment factory near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday, killing at least 25 workers and injuring 100 more, officials said.

The multi-storey plant, in the industrial hub of Ashulia, 25km north of Dhaka, is owned by one of the country's largest exporters, Hameem Group, and produces clothes for American brands such as Gap and JC Penney.

"It is a big fire and many workers are trapped on the roof of the building. We are mobilising all our teams from around the city," fire department chief Abu Nayeem told AFP.

Dhaka District Police Chief Iqbal Bahar told AFP seven people had died in the blaze, which he said had not yet been brought under control. "They all died after jumping from the top floors of the building to escape the  fire," he said.

At least 100 people have been injured, many seriously, police at the scene said. "Some were injured in a stampede, some inhaled too much smoke," police sub-inspector Mostofa Chowdhury said, adding that workers reported that emergency exits from the building were locked.

Hazrat Ali, who works at the factory, told AFP that he had seen at least three people jump from the upper floors of the 11-storey building. "The fire originated at the canteen on the 11th floor and quickly spread. People could still be trapped because the factory often locked the exit gates," he told AFP.

Some 14,000 workers are employed at the factory, said Sunil Kumar Sarkar, a senior official at the Hameen Group, who confirmed that the group produces clothes primarily for American brands including Gap and JC Penney.

"We are lucky in some ways that the fire started during lunch break because many workers go outside at that point. But it is still terrible, and we are concerned some workers are still inside," he told AFP.

Huge plumes of smoke billowed from the building as scores of firefighters battled to douse the blaze.

Fires due to short circuits and substandard electrical wiring are common in Bangladeshi garment factories, which use cheap labour to produce clothes that are often shipped to Western countries.

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