• Home
  • Read
    • Products
      • Featured Articles
      • News Views
      • Magazines ↗
    • Themes
      • Current Affairs
      • Politics
      • History
      • Counter Terrorism
      • Islamophobia
      • Tarbiya
    • Seasons
      • Ashura
      • Christmas
      • Dhul Hijjah
      • Sha’ban
      • Mawlid
      • New Year
      • Ramadan
  • Watch
    • Unscripted
    • Big Discussions
    • Online Masjid ↗
  • Campaigns
    • Stand4Uyghurs ↗
    • In Their Shoes ↗
  • Shop ↗
  • Prayer Times
  • Donate
  • More
    • About Us
    • Advertise your Business
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Submit an Article
    • Subscribe
    • Write
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube WhatsApp Telegram
Islam21c
  • Home
  • Read
    • Products
      • Featured Articles
      • News Views
      • Magazines ↗
    • Themes
      • Current Affairs
      • Politics
      • History
      • Counter Terrorism
      • Islamophobia
      • Tarbiya
    • Seasons
      • Ashura
      • Christmas
      • Dhul Hijjah
      • Sha’ban
      • Mawlid
      • New Year
      • Ramadan
  • Watch
    • Unscripted
    • Big Discussions
    • Online Masjid ↗
  • Campaigns
    • Stand4Uyghurs ↗
    • In Their Shoes ↗
  • Shop ↗
  • Prayer Times
  • Donate
  • More
    • About Us
    • Advertise your Business
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Submit an Article
    • Subscribe
    • Write
Islam21c
Home»News»Fifty-two dead in Bangladesh food-processing factory blaze

Fifty-two dead in Bangladesh food-processing factory blaze

News By Shaheer Choudhury11/07/2021No Comments4 Mins Read
Mamunur Rashid / Shutterstock

A devastating inferno at a food-processing centre has tragically taken the lives of at least fifty-two workers in Rupganj. The centre is located just an hour’s drive east of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. The owner of the factory, along with four of his sons, have all been charged with murder amidst a police investigation into the cause of the fire. The ferocious blaze, which engulfed the five-storey Hashem Foods factory on Thursday evening, is believed to have started as a result of numerous breaches in fire safety regulations. [1] [2]

Children as young as 11 had reportedly been working at the site. Highly flammable chemicals and plastics that were stored in the building only made the blaze worse. Shockingly, police investigating the cause of the fire have discovered that the main entrance to the building had been padlocked, thus preventing many of the occupants from escaping. This meant that people tragically remained trapped inside the building, with many of them eventually dying. Jayedul Alam, who presides as police superintendent for Narayanganj district, said that a number of fatalities were a result of people jumping from the upper levels of the burning factory in a desperate attempt to flee from the inferno.

Concerning the building’s owner and his four sons, Alam relayed to The Associated Press:


  • Helps complete development and release our brand new website where all the above happens
  • Helps run National Khutbah days with 100s of Imams reaching 100,000s on Jummah highlighting social issues
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential figures tackling todays challenges
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential scholars and activists tackling today's challenges
  • Helps research featured articles by leading scholars/activists offering guidance and solutions
  • Helps write NewsViews articles setting our narrative to major breaking stories
  • By proceeding, you will be added to the Islam21c mailing list. Your data is safe with us and will be protected in accordance with our data protection policy.
  • £ 0.00
  • per month
  • NOTE: Donating Zakat? Please proceed to our Zakat applicable emergency appeal here.
  • Donation Top Up

    Are you trying to increase your Rizq? Did you know by increasing your donation right now, Allah promises to give you back MUCH MORE
  • Helps write NewsViews articles setting our narrative to major breaking stories
  • Helps research featured articles by leading scholars/activists offering guidance and solutions
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential scholars and activists tackling today's challenges
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential figures tackling todays challenges
  • Helps run National Khutbah days with 100s of Imams reaching 100,000s on Jummah highlighting social issues
  • Helps complete development and release our brand new website where all the above happens



“We have arrested them for murder charges…They are in our custody now.” [3]

Emergency services personnel discovered the bodies of 48 people on the third floor alone. They are yet to release figures concerning their recovery efforts in the two uppermost floors.

Bangladesh has suffered a number of health and safety disasters in recent years, with the worst case being that of the Rana Plaza collapse of 2013. 1,134 people were killed when the multi-storey, mixed-use, and structurally faulty building came crashing down in less than 90 seconds. Multiple harrowing accounts were given of people amputating their own limbs in order to free themselves from the rubble. From those who survived, many instantly became jobless, as they were engulfed by the constant fear that such a disaster may very well occur again. This was the case for many workers, as they had only worked for the garment sector throughout their lives.

Since that horrifying accident, there have been widespread calls for action. There have been a number of global initiatives which have garnered the support of multinational corporations. Italian brands Kappa and Benetton, Bonmarche and Primark of the UK, Inditex of Spain, and at least 20 others have pledged to take action to ensure that another accident does not occur. The primary objective is to have these corporations support the Bangladeshi government – and particularly garment factories – in bolstering their health and safety standards. Indeed, there are now regular inspections, emergency fire exits, and stricter laws against locking doors. This has been confirmed in a study undertaken by the International Finance Corporation, a sister organisation of the World Bank. Its pivotal research found that since the horrendous Rana Plaza catastrophe of 2013, there has been a significant growth in revenues from garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. The nation is now “the second largest exporter of garments in the world, with the sector accounting for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s total export earnings”. [4] [5]

Thursday’s deadly accident has rocked the nation yet again, and indicates that the South Asian country must do much more in order to improve the health and safety standards of its factories. The coronavirus pandemic still causes untold misery, with 164 new cases reported last Monday (the biggest daily rise since the pandemic began). The government has introduced a strict lockdown in Dhaka, leading many migrant workers to return to their respective villages. Some are experiencing immense hardship as their sources of income dry up, with one market worker retorting:

“During the lockdown, there is no work. If this continues, I don’t know how I feed my family…It is not the coronavirus but hunger that will kill us.” [6]


Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/bangladesh-factory-fire-kills-people-dhaka

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/10/bangladesh-police-arrest-factory-owner-after-dozens-die-in-fire

[3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bangladesh-factory-fire-arrests-police-1.6097862

[4] https://archive.cleanclothes.org/safety/ranaplaza/who-needs-to-pay-up

[5] https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/news_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/news+and+events/news/insights/bangladesh-garment-industry

[6] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-extends-lockdown-combat-covid-19-surge-2021-07-05/

Shaheer Choudhury

Shaheer is a regular contributor for Islam21c. He maintains a strong interest in current affairs, as well as the changing global conditions of Muslim populations. Prior to joining Islam21c, he developed a number of years’ experience in the health and social care sector and has previously volunteered at the Muslim Youth Helpline.

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram WhatsApp
Previous ArticleRemembering Srebrenica 26 Years On
Next Article This Dhul Hijjah is Special

Related Posts

Idrissa Gueye – European Football Wants Black & Brown Bodies With White Cultural Norms & Beliefs

20/05/2022

World commemorates 74th Nakba Day in solidarity with colonised Palestine

15/05/2022

Israeli Militants Attack Funeral of Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

13/05/2022

10 Years Ago Our Colleague Was Abducted in Pakistan. His Wife & Children Still Don’t Know Where He Is.

12/05/2022

World condemns Israeli occupation for assassinating Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “in cold blood”

11/05/2022

Prevent experts call on Charity Commission to investigate Policy Exchange after condemned report

11/05/2022
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Shaheer Choudhury

Shaheer is a regular contributor for Islam21c. He maintains a strong interest in current affairs, as well as the changing global conditions of Muslim populations. Prior to joining Islam21c, he developed a number of years’ experience in the health and social care sector and has previously volunteered at the Muslim Youth Helpline.

Islam21c
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Telegram
© 2022 Islam21c.com | All rights reserved

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.