Many of the dead were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, officials said.
Police in Bangladesh arrested eight people Saturday on murder charges in connection with a factory fire that killed at least 52 people, many of whom were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, a senior police official said. The blaze began Thursday night at the five-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, just outside the capital Dhaka, sending huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky. Police discovered piles of bodies Friday afternoon after the fire was extinguished. «We have arrested them for murder charges,» Jayedul Alam, police superintendent for Narayanganj district, told The Associated Press by phone. «They are in our custody now.» Home Minister Asaduzzman Khan said that among those detained is the managing director of Sajeeb Group, which owns the factory. The minister did not provide further details, but said those responsible would be punished. «It’s a murder,» Khan told reporters as he visited the factory site Saturday. By Saturday evening, a court in Dhaka allowed all eight suspects to remain in police custody for four days for interrogation. Bangladesh has a tragic history of industrial disasters, including factories catching fire with workers locked inside. Big international brands, which employ tens of thousands of low-paid workers in Bangladesh, have come under heavy pressure to improve factory conditions. In similar cases, factory owners have faced culpable homicide charges for negligence, and it’s illegal for a factory to lock its exits when workers are inside during production hours.
