Forty hurt in Bangladesh garment factory stampede

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Apr 1 (Reuters) At least 40 Bangladeshi garment workers, most of them women, were injured in a stampede at a factory today, police said.

''The stampede was triggered following a false fire alarm when several hundred workers were busy taking a quick lunch,'' said a police officer in Chittagong, 300 km southeast of the capital Dhaka.

Most of the injured had limb fractures and were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

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

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.

REUTERS DKS PC2034