Two female garment workers were trampled to death yesterday by their fellow workers while rushing down the pitch-black and narrow staircase of a garment factory in the city's Chankharpool area fearing a fire. The incident also left at least 65 others injured, mostly women.
The deceased are Jasmin Akhter, 20, daughter of late Idris Ali of Shahidnagar in Lalbagh and Taslima Akhter, 18, daughter of Aziz Hawlader of Keraniganj.
The injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Of them, 22 were released after given first aid, said DMCH doctor Mehedi Hasan.
Incensed, workers of Eurotex Ltd on Hosni Dalan Road later vandalised parts of the factory and staged demonstrations demanding the production manager be punished since he had allegedly asked the factory gate to be closed when the workers were trying to escape.
Witnesses said around 1:00pm some workers saw smoke coming out of the boiler room on the second floor of the seven-storey factory and got down using the two narrow staircases. When they got down, the factory authorities told them there was no fire and asked them to get back to work.
Returning to work within five minutes, the garment employees saw more smoke and smelt gas.
“I saw the smoke gushing out and smelt the gas,” said Jahanara Begum, a worker at the second floor.
Apprehending the possibility of the gas igniting, the workers began panicking and rushed to go out.
To make sure the gas does not ignite, a factory official disconnected the mains and the factory went dark.
As the female workers crowded a staircase designated for their use, the guard rail of the stairs broke and many fell from the stairs on to the ones below. Many got trampled then by the ones who were trying to get out.
However, when they reached the gate downstairs, they found it locked.
The workers also blamed the security guards for the deaths as they complied with the production manager's directives.
Contacted, factory administrative officer Muhasin Ali denied the allegation of keeping the gate closed but admitted that he had switched off the mains to avert a fire.
The Daily Star, Sunday, December 4, 2011
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