Gazi Tire Factory, owned by local parliamentarian Golam Dastagir Gazi was set on fire on Sunday night (August 25). Twelve fire engines from Demra, Kanchpur, Adamjee EPZ and Kanchan have been trying to extinguish the blaze.
Locals say hundreds of people barged into the five-storey factory on Sunday night and looted it. Around 9pm, miscreants set fire to the ground floor. As the fire gradually spread to other floors, many jumped off the first and second floors but many others remained trapped.
Lt Col Karim said plastic, rubber, chemicals and other flammable materials were stored on most of the floors. “This has made it difficult to put out the fire,” he said.
He said they have rescued 14 people from the building. “It is unclear how many people were trapped in the building,” he said.
Locals claim that at least 400 people were inside the building when the fire broke out but it is unclear how many of them made it out.
