Factory fire kills 50 in Bangladesh

DHAKA, NOV. 26. Fifty persons, mostly women, were killed and over 100 injured in a fire at a garment factory in Bangladesh's Narsinghdi district, hospital sources said here today.

The sources said over 100 factory workers were being treated for burn injuries after the blaze in the eastern town of Shibpur, 30 km from the capital Dhaka, last night.

The Government today said it had constituted a five- member committee led by an additional district magistrate to probe the tragedy.

Police have filed a case against the owner of the Choudhury Knitwear factory.

A fireman involved in the rescue operations said such a large number of people were killed as they were trapped inside the factory with the only exit being locked.

``Several hundred employees trapped inside could not find any way out till the locals and firefighters forced open the gates,'' he said.

Witnesses said many inside the blazing building jumped through the windows, some scrambled for a way out on the narrow staircases while others were screaming helplessly.

Over 900 workers were on duty when the fire engulfed the four- storey building.

- PTI

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