‘Guard charged with a stick as we tried to leave’: Child worker escapes Keraniganj factory fire, grandmother missing

A devastating fire at a gas lighter manufacturing factory in Keraniganj has left at least six people dead and several others, including a 51-year-old woman, missing, with survivors alleging that the factory’s security guard came at them with a stick as they tried to escape.

Eleven-year-old Mim Akter, who worked at the factory alongside her grandmother Parveen Akter, managed to flee the blaze yesterday (4 April) by pushing past the guard. However, her grandmother remains unaccounted for.

“I used to test whether the lighters were working, and my grandmother arranged them,” Mim told The Business Standard. “When the fire broke out, I tried to get out, but the guard came at us with a stick. A few of us pushed him aside and ran out. I rushed home and told my father.”

Mim lives with her family in the Washmill area of Kadamtali. Her father, Zahid, a day labourer, said Parveen had been working at the factory for about a year and a half, while Mim had joined her around six months ago.

“She went to work this morning as usual. My daughter came running home saying there was a fire and she couldn’t find her grandmother. When I rushed there, the flames were raging everywhere. I have been searching for my mother since the fire was brought under control, but I still haven’t found her,” Zahid said.

The fire broke out around 12:45pm at the factory in the Ambagan area of Aganagar union, South Keraniganj. Due to the presence of highly flammable materials, the flames spread rapidly, turning the blaze severe within moments, according to Fire Service.

Seven units of the Fire Service worked for nearly an hour and a half to bring the fire under control by 2:30pm. The fire was fully extinguished at 4:44pm, according to Anwarul Islam Dolon, a media officer at the Fire Service headquarters.

So far, firefighters have recovered six bodies from the site. The identities of the deceased could not be confirmed immediately, while rescue operations were ongoing to search for any additional victims.

The bodies have been sent to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital.

Rescue operations were still ongoing as of 9:30pm, with officials saying the collapsed tin-shed structure of the factory would be cleared before conducting further searches for possible victims.

Local sources said the factory typically employs around 40-45 workers, though only 17-18 were present at the time due to the post-Eid slowdown. At least three workers had reportedly joined on the very day of the incident.

According to Fire Service, the presence of combustible materials significantly intensified the blaze.