Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 12

The Rana Plaza was the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry and killed 1,129 people

A fire broke out in a garment packaging factory just outside the Bangladeshi capital on Saturday, killing at least 12 people, police and witnesses said.

Dozens more were taken to hospital with injuries as firemen struggle to control the blaze in the four-storey building, one fire official said.

"The fire broke out in the morning just when work was about to start," said the official, Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman.

The reason for the fire in the industrial zone of Tongi, 20 km (12 miles) north of Dhaka, was not immediately known. Around 100 people were in the building when it began.

Readymade garments are the mainstay of the Bangladeshi economy, and earned $28 billion in exports during the fiscal year that ended in June.

Weak fire protection systems are common in factories in Bangladesh, where more than 1,100 workers died in a 2013 building collapse at the Rana Plaza that ranks as the country's worst industrial disaster.

Newsletter Stay up to date with Christian Today
News
‘We’ve had nothing like this’ - over 30,000 attend historic Franklin Graham evangelical gathering in Belarus
‘We’ve had nothing like this’ - over 30,000 attend historic Franklin Graham evangelical gathering in Belarus

The two-day “Festival of Hope”, organised by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), drew almost 31,000 people to Chizhovka Arena in the Belarusian capital.

Despite minor improvements, Saudi Arabia remains a tough place for Christians
Despite minor improvements, Saudi Arabia remains a tough place for Christians

Officially, conversion from Islam carries the death penalty.

Calls to free Nicaraguan Protestant pastor unjustly imprisoned for four years
Calls to free Nicaraguan Protestant pastor unjustly imprisoned for four years

A Christian rights organisation has intensified calls for the release of imprisoned Nicaraguan pastor Efrén Antonio Vílchez López

Church of Scotland urged to adapt funding model
Church of Scotland urged to adapt funding model

The Church of Scotland had an unexpectedly good financial year but more change is needed for long-term financial sustainability.