Staff Reporter :
The death toll from Monday’s boiler explosion at Multi-Fabs factory in Gazipur rose to 13 after recovery of three more bodies, a Fire Service and Civil Defence official said.
“Fire fighters recovered four more bodies from the debris on Tuesday morning,” Deputy Director of Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defence Akhtaruzzaman told journalists yesterday.
Besides, another body was also recovered yesterday afternoon, the official said.
He said, the firefighters were still searching for victims under the debris till filing of this report yesterday evening. However, the rescue efforts were halted Monday night due to rains.
Meanwhile, the authorities closed the Multi-Fabs factory for an indefinite period, said workers of the factory. At least six people were instantly killed and around 50 other injured in the deadly explosion.
The authorities of 10 other garments factories of the area closed their factories for Tuesday following the incident.
The injured were admitted to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital where three of the injured succumbed to their injuries on Monday night.
There was crying, groaning, yelling and the smell of burnt flesh at the overcrowded burn unit of DMCH on Tuesday.
Witnesses described shocking scenes as they entered the wreckage to search the burned bodies
Nine of the deceased were identified as Mahabubur Rahman, 23, son of Sahar Ali, of Namajkhali village in Sonatala, Bogra, Abdus Salam, 55, son of Moksed Ahammed of Bamonsundor village in Mirsarai, Chittagong, Gias Uddin, 30, son of Bacchu, a resident of Madna village in Chandpur Sadar, Al-Amin, 30, son of Ayub Ali of Gobra village in Harishpur Magura, Biplob Chandra Shil, 38, son of Manindanath of Barat Bazaar in Goalando Rajbari, Mojibur Rahman, 37, son of Sagor Ali of Nasirnagar, Brahmanbaria, Soleman Miah, 30, son of Liakat Ali, a resident of Maria village under Polashbari upazila in Gaibandha district, Mansur, 30, and Arshad Hossain, 36.
The family of a factory worker, Ershad Ullah, was searching for him in the rubble on Tuesday morning.
Officials have not confirmed whether the body they found was Ershad’s.
It was the second deadly boiler explosion at an apparel factory. Earlier on September 10, 2016, at least 37 people, mostly workers, were killed and 74 injured in a boiler explosion incident at a factory in Tongi BSCIC industrial area of Gazipur.
The Multifabs factory was to resume operations on Tuesday following the Eid holidays. The factory authorities turned on the drying section boiler on Monday afternoon in preparation for the opening.
Over 60 workers were inside the factory at the time of the explosion.
Doors, windows, machineries and a section of the wall up to the second storey were caught up in the blast and went flying, said witnesses.
Meanwhile, the district administration formed eight-member investigation committee led by Additional District Magistrate Rayhanul Islam said as the boiler was outdated it exploded.
“The longevity of the boiler expired on June 24. But the factory authority didn’t take any step in this regard. We are investigating the incident to the details,” Rayhanul said.
