400 fall ill in Bangladesh after drinking factory water

Dhaka, June 30: Around 400 workers Sunday fell ill at their garment factory on the outskirts of the Bangladesh capital after drinking water at the factory, police said.

The workers were from Rose Dresses Limited, owned by Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Atiqul Islam, according to Md. Badrul Alam, officer-in-charge of Ashulia police station.

Health officials told Xinhua that most of the workers suffered from vomiting while some of them complained of upset stomach.

Xinhua said a spokesman of Rose Dresses Limited was not available for comment.

Alam said the cause of contamination of water at the factory was not known. Around 6,000 workers are employed at the unit.

He said the workers were out of danger and many have already left hospitals. Police collected water samples and sent these for laboratory tests.

After a similar incident earlier this month, the BGMEA termed it "sabotage by vested quarters".

On June 5, nearly 300 workers of a garment factory in Gazipur on the outskirts of Dhaka were hospitalised after drinking contaminated water.

Bangladesh's garment industry was badly hit in the country's worst tragedy in April.

A total of 1,130 people were killed when an eight-storey building housing five garment factories crumbled April 24 in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka.

IANS