DHAKA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 workers, mostly women, sustained injuries as a fire engulfed a knitwear factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Thursday night, a fire official said.
Lieutenant Colonel Musharaf Hossain, director (training, development & planning) of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Department, told reporters that 11 units of firefighters after hectic efforts of hours managed to douse the devastating fire at around 11:30 p.m. local time (1630 GMT) at the Pakiza Knit Composite Ltd.
He said the huge fire at the knitwear factory broke out at 8:40 p.m. local time (1340 GMT).
The fire burned from the 1st floor through the 3rd floor of the factory and nearly 200 workers were on duty when the fire struck, he added.
"At least 21 workers were injured. Many of the injured got admitted to different hospitals including the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital," Hossain said.
Of them, according to the official, seven workers suffered serious injuries and were in a critical condition.
Some employees and workers jumped from windows to escape the blaze at the three-storey building, witnesses said.
The cause of the fire, which shed the light once again on poor safety standards, was not immediately known.
Some workers said the blaze apparently started in a section of the factory where there are stock of chemicals.
A spokesman of the factory was not immediately available for comment.
The government has formed a committee to probe the mishap.
In 2012, a huge fire at a garment factory in suburban Dhaka, which indirectly manufactured clothes for U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, claimed at least 111 lives.
