Bangladesh official blames locked door, toxic fume for the devastating fire

15/10/2025 17:28

Toxic gas and a locked door that barred access to a roof were responsible for most of the deaths in a devastating fire in a Bangladesh garment factory and an adjoining chemical warehouse.



The tragedy, which killed 16 and critically injured several more, spotlights Bangladesh’s poor record on industrial safety, despite improvements following incidents in 2012 and 2013 that drew global attention to unsafe working conditions.



Thick smoke rose from the charred structure amid cooling operations by firefighters a day after the blaze on the third floor of a four-storey building in Dhaka, the capital, quickly engulfed the warehouse packed with plastic and chemicals.



Dozens of relatives waited outside the blackened building, some clutching photographs of those missing.



Identification of the bodies, many badly burned, is being carried out at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.