DHAKA, Bangladesh — A fire at a garment factory north of Dhaka killed 24 people and injured dozens more on Monday, in the latest blow to the country’s largest industry.
The fire at a 10-story factory in the Ashulia industrial area, about 16 miles from the capital, started on the ninth floor around lunch time when most of the workers were outside. Local reporters who had canvassed area hospitals said that at least 24 people were killed. Factory officials said they knew of about 20 deaths.
About 5,000 people worked in the building, producing pants for customers in the United States and Europe, said Delwar Hussain, a deputy managing director at the Ha-Meem Group, which owns the factory. Fire officials were still fighting the fire, which also spread to the top-most floor, into the evening as family members gathered at the compound to look for their relatives.
It was not immediately clear which specific Western retailers were supplied by the factory. Garment factories employ about 3 million Bangladeshis, most of them women, to make clothes for stores like Wal-Mart, H&M, and J.C. Penney.
The fire comes days after three people were killed in labor protests. Workers have said they were protesting because some factories had not implemented a government-mandated 80 percent increase in the minimum wage, to 3,000 taka or about $43. The government passed an increase minimum wage in August, the first hike since 2006.
It was unclear what caused the fire at the Ha-Meem factory and whether it was related to the labor unrest. Mr. Hussain said the company suspected an electrical short circuit but added that investigators from the government and the garment industry association were still working to establish the cause.
Garment factories are susceptible to fires because piles of clothes are easily combustible. Fires can also be very deadly because some factory owners lock exits to prevent workers from leaving their machines. Mr. Hussain said the doors at the company’s factory were not locked.
International labor groups have often criticized the safety of Bangladesh’s garment factories. A fire at another factory outside Dhaka killed more than 20 people in February.
The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exports Association said it would pay families of workers killed in the Ha-Meem fire 100,000 taka ($1,400) and the company has pledged to pay another 100,000 taka.
Mr. Hussain said the company hopes to reopen the first eight floors of the factory as early as Tuesday, because they do not appear to be damaged. He said the company expects to meet all pending orders. The ninth floor was used as a finishing area where workers prepared shipments, and the tenth floor housed a dining hall, he said.
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