A raging fire on Tuesday tore through a huge Bangladeshi garment factory that makes clothes for Western shops including Gap, killing at least 25 workers and injuring 100 more. Many of the dead were killed after they jumped from the building in a desperate attempt to escape the inferno, police and witnesses said, while workers said some exit doors were locked.
The multi-storey plant in the industrial hub of Ashulia, 25 kilometres (16 miles) north of the capital Dhaka, is owned by one of the country's largest exporters, Hameem Group. "Twenty-five people have been killed, 22 of them jumped to their deaths or fell while trying to escape the fire," Mohibul Haq, Dhaka district government administrator told AFP.
"The three other victims died after sustaining severe burns and their bodies were recovered on the 10th floor after the fire was put out," he said. The government has already launched a probe into the blaze, he said. Police at the scene said that at least 100 people were injured, many of them seriously.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010

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