On Saturday night, November 24, the Tazreen Fashion factory located just outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, fell victim to a deadly fire. This incident is said to have been the most lethal fire in the thirty-five years that Bangladesh has exported clothing.

According to the company’s website, the Tazreen Fashion factory employs about 1,200 workers, 70 percent of whom are women. Most of the workers are from Northern Bangladesh, the country’s poorest region. Tazreen Fashion exports approximately 36 million dollars worth of goods each year.

Nasima, a worker, told the Associated Press that the fire began on the ground floor. At the first signs of fire, workers tried to flee. However, managers ordered them to return to their posts and continue with their tasks. The managers were ignored and a state of panic broke out among employees.

Dense smoke quickly filled the building and the electricity went out. Nasima fainted while inside the seven-story factory and later awoke outside, on the street.

According to syracuse.com, three officials accused of locking the factory doors were arrested on Wednesday. Officials are unsure what caused the fire. Arson and sabotage have not been ruled out.

An estimated 125 workers were killed in the fire. About 100 bodies had been recovered by Sunday morning. In addition, 12 injured workers who jumped fromnthe burning building subsequently passed away at the hospital.

Several known factors contributed to the high death toll. Only certain workers were trained to use fire extinguishers, and the factory lacked emergency exits; if a greater number of exits were unlocked, fewer would have died.

The Seattle Times reported that Fire Department Operations Director, Mohammad Mahbub. Mahbub
said that army soldiers were deployed to assist police in keeping the situation under control. Many people related to those who lost their lives in the fire gathered at the site. Roughly 3,000 garment workers protested the fire this past week, blocking roads and throwing stones. The factories closed to avoid further violence.

Work conditions in Bangladesh’s garment factories are  sub par. Since 2006, over 500 people have lost their lives to fires such as the Tazreen Factory blaze. In fact, on Monday November 26, another fire near Dhaka occurred. There were no deaths but moderate infrastructure damage occurred.

Garments and documents found in the factory serve as evidence that big name U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart, were involved in business with the factory. Wal-Mart claims that they stopped business transactions with Tazreen last year, after receiving an audit that deemed the factory high risk. A supplier ordered from the factory, without Wal-Mart’s knowledge. Wal-Mart stopped transactions with the supplier on Monday.

Tuesday, November 27 was declared a national day of mourning. This incident has heightened awareness of unsafe work conditions in Bangladesh where garment production and exports of
clothing is rapidly increasing.