Yet Another Bangladesh Factory Fire Claims 8 Lives

The disasters continue at Bangladesh's garment factories. There was the fire that killed more than 100 people late last year; then another fire in January; then the building collapse whose confirmed death toll has reached 912. Now, yet another fire has killed at least eight people in a Dhaka garment factory—including, reportedly, the building owner and a police officer, the BBC notes.

"It was a big fire, but we managed to confine it on one floor," an official tells AFP. Most employees had already left work when the fire began, but "toxic smoke from burnt acrylic clothing" killed the victims. The fire occurred in an 11-story building owned by the Tung Hai Group, a garment-exporting firm; the cause is under investigation, said a garment industry leader. Safety concerns had prompted the closure of 18 garment factories, the Bangladesh government said yesterday; six were approved to open again today, Reuters reports. (More Bangladesh stories.)