Bangladesh police charge 13 over deadliest garment factory fire

Bangladesh police today laid the first charges over the nation's deadliest-ever garment factory fire 13 months ago, accusing the owners and 11 others of an offence punishable by life imprisonment.

A Bangladeshi Army soldier walks through rows of burnt sewing machines after a fire in the nine-storey Tazreen Fashion plant in Savar, some 30 kilometres north of Dhaka. AFP Photo

DHAKA // The owners of a Bangladeshi garment factory and 11 employees were on Sunday charged with culpable homicide for alleged negligence leading to the death of 112 workers in a fire that engulfed the factory last year.
It was the first time Bangladeshi authorities have sought to prosecute factory owners in the world's second-largest garment industry.
A series of recent deadly disasters – including the November 24, 2012, fire and a factory collapse in April that killed more than 1,100 workers – exposed how harsh and often unsafe conditions can be for many of the country's 4 million workers making clothing for major western retailers.
The public prosecutor, Anwarul Kabir Babul, said the 13 people charged could face life in prison if convicted of failing to ensure safety at the sprawling Tazreen Fashions factory, located outside the capital.
Those charged include the owners Delwar Hossain and his wife, Mahmuda Akter, as well as 11 factory managers, security guards and engineers, Mr Babul said. A court will decide on December 31 whether to accept the charges and allow a trial to proceed.
"The managers and security guards misguided the workers by saying that it was nothing but a part of a regular fire drill when the blaze broke out," Mr Babul said. "So the workers went back to work after the fire alarm went off, but they got trapped as the mangers locked the gates."
* Associated Press