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Fire at Bangladesh juice factory kills 52
At least 52 people were killed, 20 injured and many more feared trapped after a massive fire raged through a juice-making factory in Bangladesh, officials said on Friday, the latest industrial fire accident in the country.
The fire started on Thursday evening at the ground floor of a six-storey factory building in the Narayanganj district, 20 km (12 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka, run by the private firm Hashem Food and Beverage, which is a unit of Bangladesh‘s multinational Sajeeb Group. The factory makes mango fruit drinks under the Shezan brand.
“Three people died from jumping off the building to escape the fire and 49 charred bodies have been recovered so far,” Mustain Billah, the administrator for the Narayanganj district, told Reuters by phone from the scene.
“It is still burning on the top floor. Firefighters are struggling to control it, as chemicals and flammable materials were stored inside the building.”
He said that the cause of the fire is not yet known.
“Plastics and flammable substances and chemicals all made it hard to douse the fire,” said Abdullah Al Arefin, a district fire service official, adding the severe heat from the fire caused cracks in the building.
Al Arefin said each floor in the building is about 35,000 square feet (3,250 square meters) but they were only accessible by two stairways and that many workers could not get out as the fire spread to the stairs.
One of the doors leading from the stairs to the roof was locked, he said.
“We rescued 25 people after setting a ladder to the rooftop. We could have saved more if others could reach the rooftop,” said Debashish Bardhan, deputy director of the national fire service.
Many workers were injured in trying to jump off the building’s second and third floors to escape, said Shah Alam, another district fire service official.
Officials at Hashem Foods and Sajeeb Group did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
As relatives of the missing staged protests around the factory site, a mother searching for her son, Nazma Begum, cried out, “There is no justice! Where is my son?”
Narayanganj in central Bangladesh is packed with factories making everything from jute to textiles.
Disasters because of poor fire and building safety standards are common in Bangladesh, largely in the textiles sector that employs millions and contributes the most to its economy.
Industry officials promised better safety standards after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in 2012 in Dhaka that killed more than 1,000 workers and injured hundreds. But many factories inside and outside the textiles sector still fall short, leading to accidents each year.
The Narayanganj district administration has formed a five-member probe committee to examine the incident, Al Arefin said.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, India and Russia issued a joint statement highlighting their close coordination on Afghanistan. Both sides appreciated the ongoing dialogue between their respective Security Councils and underscored the significance of the Moscow Format meetings in promoting regional stability.
The leaders welcomed counter-terrorism efforts targeting international terrorist groups, including ISIS, ISKP, and their affiliates, expressing confidence in a comprehensive and effective approach to combating terrorism in Afghanistan. They also stressed the urgent need to ensure uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
India and Russia have maintained close ties on regional security, particularly concerning developments in Afghanistan following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021. The Moscow Format, a diplomatic platform including Afghanistan’s neighbors, has played a key role in facilitating dialogue on peace, stability, and counter-terrorism in the region.
Five civilians were killed and five others wounded in firing by Pakistani troops on Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province late on Friday, sources told Ariana News.
The attack comes two days after a new round of peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan reportedly ended without a breakthrough, though both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire.
The recent talks in Saudi Arabia were the latest in a series of meetings hosted by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia aimed at easing tensions after deadly clashes near the Durand Line in October. Dozens were killed in the clashes in October.
Islamabad claims that Afghanistan-based militants carried out the recent attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations, saying it cannot be held responsible for security inside Pakistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said Afghan forces had responded to the recent Pakistani attacks.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi says both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sadyr Japarov, the President of Kyrgyzstan, who visited Islamabad on Thursday, expressed their mutual commitment to a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with a sustainable future for the Afghan people.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Andrabi stated that both sides agreed that the Islamic Emirate must fulfill its obligations toward the international community and take concrete steps against terrorist groups to address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns.
This comes while the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly emphasized that no terrorist groups operate from Afghan territory and that it will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country.
The Islamic Emirate has also stated that Pakistan’s security concerns are an internal issue of that country, and Pakistan itself must take measures to prevent any security incidents.
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