Death toll in Bangladesh factory fire rises to 31

Two more bodies were pulled out of the rubble of a packaging factory that partially collapsed due to a water boiler explosion in the Bangladeshi capital, taking the death toll to 31 on Monday.

On Saturday, a water boiler blew up leading to huge fire in the Tampaco Foils Ltd factory in Tongi.

The blaze, which caused two floors of the five-storey building to partially collapse, was doused after 36-hours on Sunday.

Many others were critically injured in the explosion.

Firefighting units and an army team are looking for survivors under the debris of the building, said an official.

The authorities plan to demolish the building after the rescue operations are over.

A case was filed against the factory owner and seven others with the Tongi Police Station on Sunday.

The factory owner, Mokbul Hossain, also a former MP, was stated as the prime accused, said Officer-in-Charge of Tongi Police Station.

In a condolence message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressed deep shock at the deaths and injuries.

The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) conducted autopsy on 25 bodies on Sunday and handed them over to the families.

The reason behind the incident still remains unclear as the government officials claimed that the water boiler had not exploded and the fire originated from a gas leak.

The government on Saturday announced that the families of the deceased would get Taka 2 lakh each and the injured Taka 1 lakh each as compensation from the Labour Welfare Fund.

Two probe bodies - one under the district administration and another by the fire service - have been formed to investigate the incident.

The factory employs around 450 workers, and some 75 persons were on work when the incident took place.

A fire at a plastics factory last year killed 13 persons, and in 2013 more than 1,100 people died in the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the worst industrial accident in the country.

--IANS

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