Chittagong Correspondent:
A terrible fire has shaken the industrial area of Chittagong. A terrible fire has broken out at the Al Hamid Textile Garment Factory located on Road No. 5 of the CEPZ, a garment factory located inside the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), which is ‘Al Hamid Textile’ (in other words ‘Adams Cap and Textile Limited’). It is reported that the fire started in the factory’s warehouse around 2 pm on Thursday.
When the news of the fire spread, the employees tried to quickly leave the building. It is reported that many male and female workers and officials aged 16 to 20 were working in the six-story building. Nine units of the Fire Service, including the Navy, Army, Air Force, RAB and police members, are working jointly to control the fire. However, the fire was not completely brought under control till afternoon.
Workers at the scene said that it was not possible to approach the building due to the intense heat of the fire. Rescue operations are still ongoing. Before the fire, there was an argument and clash between workers and management over the recruitment of workers from 8:30 am. The workers alleged that some factory officials were trying to recruit relatives for jobs.
At one point, it was alleged that some female workers were beaten up in the clash. Tensions flared up in the incident, which later disrupted the normal functioning of the factory.