3 female workers dead in B'desh juice factory fire

At least three female workers were killed and several others injured as a juice factory in Bangladesh's Narayanganj district caught fire, a senior police official said Friday.

A total of 18 firefighting units managed to bring the fire at the six-storey Shezan Juice Factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Bhulota Karnagop area under control, after hours of trying to douse the flames, the district's police chief Md Zayedul Alam told Xinhua news agency.

He said that the 'charred bodies of three female workers were recovered shortly after the fire" broke out on Thursday.

Apart from the victims, he said 30 people were injured in the fire and they were rushed to different hospitals.


But local media reports put the number of injured people at 50.

Local media reports also said the fire in the factory has not yet been completely doused though it was almost under control since last night. TV reports showed fires were still raging in some parts of the factory.

A spokesman of the factory was not immediately available for comments.


The exact cause of the fire remained unclear.

Md Abdul Al Arefin, Narayanganj District Fire Service and Civil Defence deputy director, said that they had come to know that the fire originated from a welding accident at around 5.30 p.m. on Thursday.

The official said the death toll may go up as many people have sustained critical injuries.-IANS