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Firefighters in front of the burned-out factory building in Rupganj
Photo: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
After the devastating factory fire in Bangladesh with more than 50 deaths, the police arrested the company owner.
The authorities said he was suspected of murder.
In addition, investigations into the suspicion of child labor in the food factory in the industrial town of Rupganj have been initiated.
There were a total of seven arrests in connection with the fire, the police said.
A separate investigation into suspected child labor was opened after it was discovered that minors were employed in the factory.
The youngest of the children is said to have been only eleven years old.
Doors are said to have been locked
The factory, in which juices and soft drinks were produced among other things, is located about 25 kilometers east of the capital Dhaka.
The major fire broke out on Thursday.
Eyewitnesses described people jumping from the top floor to escape the flames.
According to previous information from the authorities, 52 people were killed and around 30 others injured in the fire.
According to the fire brigade, the cause of the fire was the storage of highly flammable chemicals and plastic in the factory.
The fire was only brought under control after more than 24 hours.
Factory workers also reported that the doors to the stairs on the third floor of the building were locked.
On Friday alone, the fire brigade discovered 49 bodies on the floor alone.
On television, workers said they broke the lock on a gate to escape the factory.
When the fire broke out, at least a thousand employees were at the plant.
The authorities set up an investigation team.
There are always devastating fires in Bangladesh.
The cause is often violations of fire protection rules.
In February 2019, at least 70 people were killed in a fire in several apartments in Dhaka because chemicals were illegally stored there.
The collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in a suburb of Dhaka, which collapsed in April 2013 under the weight of several illegally raised floors, is also dreadfully remembered.
More than 1100 people were killed.
wit / AFP / dpa
