The Fire Service has doubled down on its efforts to control a blaze at the factory of Hashem Foods Ltd that killed at least three workers in Narayanganj’s Rupganj.
The situation outside the factory has also heated up as disgruntled relatives of workers trapped inside the building have clashed with the police.
The Rupganj upazila administration has drawn up a list of 45 missing workers based on statements from relatives.
However, the Fire Service is not hopeful of finding any survivor in the six-storey factory building that has been burning for hours, reports bdnews24.com.
The factory, which manufactures various juice, soft drinks and food items in the Upazila's Karnagop area caught fire around 5:30 pm on Thursday.
As many as 18 units of the fire service were engaged in the protracted efforts to douse the fire as of 12 pm Friday.
"The fifth and sixth floors of the building are still burning. We are trying to extinguish it using ladders but it is proving difficult to bring it under control as there are plastic and chemical materials in that part of the building,” said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service.
The severe heat from the blaze is also causing cracks in a part of the building, according to him.
The windows, including the Thai aluminium structures, are falling apart, with plumes of black smoke billowing out of the factory.
The local authorities confirmed three deaths on Thursday night but since then, no other bodies have been recovered from the scene.
"There's no justice. I have never sought help from anyone when I provided education to my son until HSC. Where is my beloved son?" said Nazma, mother of Yasin Ripon, a worker.
Her son used to work at the chocolate unit on the fourth floor, Nazma said. He could not come out of the burning building.
Authorities of Hashem Foods Ltd, a unit of Sajeeb Group, have not revealed the number of workers who were inside the factory when the fire broke out.
"Many people jumped off the building in a bid to save themselves from the blaze. At least 25 people have been hospitalised. We don't how many escaped the disaster unscathed,” said Abdullah Al Arefin of the Fire Service.
"We have no idea what happened to those trapped inside, but we hardly see any hope for their survival. More people may get injured or die.”
Although the blaze was almost tamed early Friday, the fire flared up once again on the fifth and sixth floors in the morning. But with no signs of the workers trapped inside, tempers began to flare among their relatives who had gathered outside the factory.
At one point they started hurling stones at another building on the periphery of the factory compound while reportedly vandalising seven motorcycles and three cars.
The police's efforts to intervene were met with resistance from the protesters, culminating in clashes between the two sides. Police later managed to disperse the crowds and brought the situation under control.
Narayanganj Superintendent of Police Zaidul Alam said, “Relatives of the trapped workers vandalised the front end of the factory.
Many relatives were also seen in an uproar outside the compound.
