Seven killed as gas-cylinder blast tears through vehicles at Ashulia garment factory
Seven people were killed and at least 15 others injured after gas cylinders exploded on a vehicle at Pretty Group’s F&F garment factory compound in Ashulia on Sunday evening, setting several vehicles ablaze and sending metal debris flying hundreds of feet.
The explosions occurred at around 6:50 pm near Jamgora intersection, according to police and Fire Service officials.
Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Hafizur Rahman and Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Tariqul Islam confirmed to Daily Waadaa late Sunday night that the death toll had risen to seven.
Five charred bodies were recovered from a burned vehicle after firefighters extinguished the blaze. Their identities could not immediately be established because of the extent of the burns.
Another victim, Nazrul Islam, died at the burn institute of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after being taken there with severe burns.
The seventh victim, 55-year-old Zainab Begum, was killed at a tailoring shop near the factory when a cylinder or debris from the explosion struck her in the head.
Zainab, wife of Mohammad Ali of Ichharkandi in Kashimpur, Gazipur, had been visiting her daughter, who runs the shop.
“Before I could understand what was happening, I saw my mother collapse to the ground,” her daughter told Shamakal newspaper. “Then I saw the fire in front of the factory.”
Zainab’s daughter Sanjida Akhter said a cylinder flew towards the shop and struck her mother. Her son was also injured.
How the fire spread
Police and witnesses said most workers had left the factory after their shift ended at around 5 pm.
Somen Barua, warehouse inspector at the DEPZ Fire Service, told Prothom Alo newspaper that the fire broke out while gas cylinders brought for use at the factory were being unloaded from a covered van.
The fire spread to at least five nearby vehicles, while the explosions shattered factory windows, he said.
Ajker Patrika, citing witnesses and officials, reported that sparks and fragments from the initial explosion reached other vehicles carrying cylinders, triggering further fires and explosions.
Fire Service officials confirmed LPG cylinders were being carried but said the precise cause of the initial fire had yet to be established.
Witness Suman Mia said local residents initially tried to fight the blaze with water but were forced back by the intensity of the fire and continuing explosions.
Barua said firefighters were alerted at around 6:50 pm but heavy traffic on the Baipail road delayed their arrival.
Two units from Zirabo Fire Station and two from the DEPZ Fire Station reached the scene at around 7:10 pm, where they found five to six vehicles burning, Hafizur Rahman told Prothom Alo. The fire was brought under control at around 8 pm.
“We initially suspect that it started after gas cylinders exploded in a lorry parked in front of the factory,” Hafizur told The Daily Star.
Casualty figures vary
The full number of injured remained unclear late Sunday, with hospital and official accounts giving different figures.
Ashulia Women and Children Hospital received 26 injured people, hospital manager Harun-or-Rashid told Prothom Alo. Most were believed to be vegetable vendors and pedestrians near the factory, although it was not immediately clear how many factory workers were among the injured.
Two severely burned patients were initially transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later accounts said 16 people were being treated at the Ashulia hospital and three had been transferred to Dhaka because of serious burns.
Pretty Group F&F factory administration manager Hemayet Uddin said no workers were trapped inside the factory and that workers had already left the premises when the fire spread.
Fire Service officials said an investigation would be needed to establish what triggered the initial fire, how the explosions spread and the full extent of the damage.
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