In the latest fire accident on 14 December 2010 at a garments factory close to the capital Dhaka 31 workers got killed. The killed are all women and workers of Ha-Meem Group’s Sportswear Factory, located in Ashulia, an industrial zone just on the outskirts of the capital.
This major accident was preceded by another major fire accident on 25 February 2010 at Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur (also close to Dhaka) killing 21 workers, 18 of them women.
The fire broke out during lunch time. The workers, panicked, ran helter-skelter to escape the flame; many jumped off different floors. The fire raged on the top three floors of the 11-storied factory building. The workers alleged that security guards closed four of seven exit staircases, a typical tactic that the guards resort to when fire accidents break out. The consequences prove fatal, leading to stampede and causing many to jump out of the building to escape the flames. The accident on 14 December was no exception in one of the biggest and supposedly well-managed factories.
For more information on previous fire accidents in the garments industry in Bangladesh and their casualties see the SEHD report.