Staff Reporter :
At least 26 female workers received burn injuries in a fire that broke out in a tin-shed match factory at Zerabo in Ashulia of Savar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon.
Quoting witnesses, Mohsinul Quader, Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia Police Station, said, “The fire originated in a warehouse of ‘Colour Gas Match’ beside the Zerabo-Fulbagan Road around 3:30pm. Soon the fire engulfed the entire factory as there were huge flammable objects, including chemicals.According to the OC, seven fire-fighting units rushed in and doused the fire around 6:30pm. The fire brigade with local people rescued at least 26 injured workers from the factory and took them to two nearby hospitals. Of the injured, 15 were shifted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Of them, Sonia, Afroza, Hafiza, Simu, and Halima are undergoing treatment at the DMCH burn unit.
An eyewitness Dewan Mohammad Masud, also owner of the factory land, told The New Nation, around 80 workers were on duty when the fire started. “Almost all of them were able to come out of the building.”
He said that around 300 workers work in the factory in two shifts. The fire broke out at the factory around 3:30pm and the fire service doused it around 6:30pm, said Abdul Hamid, Senior Station Officer of DEPZ Fire Station.
The estimated loss in the fire could not be known instantly, the Fire Service official said. A three-member probe body has been formed to investigate the incident, he said. “15 women, aged between 13 and 25, were admitted to the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital,” said Bachchu Mia, Sub-Inspector of DMCH police outpost.
