Stampede in Bangladesh garment factory kills three

Dhaka, Mar 7: At least three Bangladeshi women were killed and 30 people injured in a stampede in a garment factory, police today said.

The accident occured yesterday night when more than 100 workers tried to escape through a narrow staircase, fearing a fire after an electrical spark at the factory in Gazipur, 50 km north of Dhaka.

Textiles are Bangladesh's biggest export fetching the country some 6 billion dollars annually, but safety standards at the mills are poor, officials and employees say.

A fire in a garment factory in the southeastern city of Chittagong killed 55 workers last month, while another 20 died when a factory building collapsed in Dhaka a few days later.

REUTERS