Bangladeshis Protest After Fire That Killed 112 Lives

Bangladeshis protest after fire that killed 112 Lives

On Monday, thousands of Bangladeshi workers blocked the streets of a Dhaka community, throwing stones at factories and smashing vehicles, as they demanded justice for 112 people killed in a garment-factory fire that highlighted unsafe conditions in an industry rushing to produce for major retailers around the world.

After the protest erupted in Savar, the industrial zone where Saturday's deadly fire occurred, some 200 factories were closed for the day. Protesters blocked a major highway.

The government announced that Tuesday will be a day of national mourning, with the national flag flying at half-mast in honor of the dead.

According to Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, investigators suspect that a short circuit caused the fire. But he said it was not the fire itself but the lack of safety measures in the eight-story building that made it so deadly.

"Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower," Mahbub said. He said firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building to escape the fire.

Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed.

Mohammad Ripu, a survivor, said Monday that he tried to run out of the building when the fire alarm rang but was stopped.

"Managers told us, 'Nothing happened. The fire alarm had just gone out of order. Go back to work,'" Ripu said. "But we quickly understood that there was a fire. As we again ran for the exit point we found it locked from outside and it was too late."

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday November 27 2012, 4:43 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0