Who will take the responsibility?

Most of charred workers were females.

Abdul Khaleque Khandker: Hardly had the blood stains of many innocent people dried out at Mogbazar explosion when the infernal fire of Hashem Food factory burned down, not one or two, but 52 or more superior creatures, the human beings, most of whom were poor female workers.

These hapless poor women worked in that factory to earn livelihood by the sweat of their brow.

They did not sit on cozy arm chairs, nor did they inhale fragrant cool air of the A/C, nor did they waste valuable times counting the bribe in the guise of the so-called degree holder gentlemen.

These poor women were sheer day labourers and whose hardship knew no respite.

Now that the air of Narayanganj and its vicinities has become heavy with the breast-beating wails and howling laments of the charred workers of Hashem Foods Limited, most of whom were females.

The rescued workers of the factory and their relatives alleged, the front gate and only exit of the factory, remained under lock and key at the time of the fire incident. They also said that the building had no proper fire safety measures. They also alleged that they wailed and requested the gate man to unlock the gate but he did not open it as the duty-bound, loyal man of the owners. Ah! what a sense of responsibility!

Fifty-two people were burned to death and 50 others sustained dangerous injury by the devastating fire that broke out at the factory building of Hashem Foods Limited, a sister concern of Sajeeb Group, in Narayanganj on Thursday afternoon. 18 units of the Fire Fighters could not have extinguished the fire even after a frenetic endeavour of 21 hours yesterday – such was the intensity of the fire.

According to fire officials, it was learnt that the fire broke out at around 5 pm on Thursday. It is suspected that the fire originated from the ground floor of the six-storey building, and spread quickly due to the presence of combustible materials such as chemicals and plastic bottles.

On Friday afternoon, the rescue team recovered 49 bodies from the fourth floor of the building. Many others are feared to be dead as the rescue operation was underway, confirmed Fire Service Deputy Director (Dhaka) Debashish Vardhan.

Earlier, three workers succumbed to injuries as they jumped off the building to escape the infernal fire.

Mina Akter, 40, and Swapna Rani, 38, died on the way to a local hospital, according to Kanchan Fire Service Station Officer Shah Alam.

Another worker, Musralin, 24, died while undergoing treatment at DhakaMedicalCollegeHospital on Thursday night, said the in-charge of the police outpost, Bachchu Mia.

Mursalin was taken to the hospital and more 11 to13 others in the evening. A dozen others were admitted to the US-BanglaMedicalCollege and the Hospital in Rupganj, Narayanganj.

All of them were injured as they jumped off the second floor and third floor of the building, according to police and fire officials.

People gathered in front of the building in search of their dear and ones who were still missing. Of the many missing, the identities of 44 missing workers were confirmed as of 1 pm on Friday, said Bhulta police outpost Sub Inspector Md Mintu.

Due to the delay in rescuing, people were trapped inside the building, the witness alleged. 

Deputy Director of Narayanganj District Fire Service Abdullah Al Arefin said, it would take some time to fully control the fire.

“Until the fire is doused, it is not possible to say exactly how much damage has occurred and the cause of the fire,” he added.

A five-member probe committee has been formed by the district administration to look into the incident.