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Fire in 3 garments factories

Stampede kills 5, hurts 50

By Staff Correspondent
At least five women workers were killed and more than 50 injured in a fire-related stampede in a high-rise building housing three garments factories in Mahakhali area in the city yesterday evening.
Besides, about 15 people including four policemen were injured in a mob-police clash following the incident in the eight-storey building at Rasulbagh. near Mahakhali bus terminal. Police used batons and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the mob of about 2.000.
The incident occurred following a spark in an electric switch board due to short cir-
cuit at the Nouvelle Garments Factory on the fifth floor at about 5:15 pm. The two other factories are Florence Fabrics Ltd and Modern Garments Ltd.
It was the second such incident in about five weeks. Twenty-three workers were killed in three garments factories on Mazar Road in Mirpur on July 30.
Of the dead in yesterday's incident. three were identified as Renu. 20. Julekha. 15 and Monoja. 22. Identities of two others, aged between 15 and 20. could not be known till late last night.
Worried parents and rela-
tions were crowding the factories and nearby hospitals for information about some missing workers.
Of the injured. 18 garments workers were admitted to nearby Metropolitan Hospital and others were taken to different clinics, said Fire Brigade sources.
Four wounded policemen, one with serious eye injuries, were rushed to the Police Hospital, police sources said.
Hearing a bang and seeing thick smoke, the garments workers, mostly women, started running towards the only staircase in the building to get out. said AK Azad, production manager of Nouvelle Garments Ltd.
Md Ekram Hossain, a secu city guard of Modern Garments, told this correspondent that six to seven hundred workers were on duty in three factories when the incident took place. Many got injured as panicky workers started rushing down the five-foot wide staircase.
Many workers including women, managed to escape by breaking open the grill of a window and unrolling bales of fabrics. There was no fire exit.
Garments officials admitted that they did not train workers to escape during an emergency.
The bodies were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue.
Seven units of fire brigade took about half an hour to put out the fire.
Traffic mpvement came to a halt for five hours in the busy Tongi Diversion Road and all outgoing inter-city passenger buses were stuck up inside the Mohakhali bus terminal due to violence.
Police and sources in the garment factories said, the mob. in suspicion of huge casualties in the incident, pelted stones on running vehicles. Police brought the situation under control by resorting to lathi charge and lobbing tear gas shells.
A large number of policemen were guarding the factory building and the Metropolitan Hospital till last night.