Bangladesh: At least 52 killed in factory fire

In Bangladesh, at least 52 people died in a nassive fire which broke out in a factory. According to information about 30 people were injured in the fire. Hundreds of distraught relatives and other workers waited anxiously outside the food factory as it continued to rage. The  fire broke out at Hashem Food and Beverage factory in Rupganj, an industrial town outside Dhaka, on Thursday afternoon and was still raging almost 24 hours later.The overnight toll of three dead rose dramatically as firefighters reached the third floor and found 49 more bodies. The fire broke out at around 5 pm on Thursday at the Shezan juice factory in Naryanganj’s Rupganj, according to fire officials.

Fire service spokesman Debashish Bardhan said: "The workers could not go to the rooftop because the exit door to the staircase was padlocked. They could not go down because the lower floors were already engulfed by fire." "Once the fire is under control, we will conduct a search and rescue operation inside. Then we can confirm any further casualties," Bardhan said. Emergency services were battling to put out the fire on the fifth and sixth floors. Firefighters using ropes rescued 25 people from the roof of the factory that made noodles, fruit juices and candy. Dhaka fire chief Dinu Moni Sharma said the blaze took off because highly flammable chemicals and plastics had been stockpiled inside.