Bangladesh authorities have closed four garment factories and partially shut down two others after engineers hired by Western retailers detected major structural flaws in the plants, an official said Wednesday. The move came amid increased inspections from retailers who are checking 1,500 factories in an effort to prevent a repeat of the disasters that have killed thousands of workers in recent years.
A top government official told AFP that a government panel ordered the closure of four factories in a multi-storied complex in the port city of Chittagong and two floors of separate factories in the capital Dhaka. "We've found serious structural flaws in the Chittagong building complex. It was too risky. So we have shut down the building," said Syed Ahmed, head of the department of factory inspections.