Grieving relatives of garment workers caught up in the factory fire.
A Bangladesh factory that caught fire, killing 10 people, produced fabric used by suppliers to at least two British high street chains.
Next and H&M have confirmed approved suppliers in turn sourced fabric from the Aswad factory in Gazipur. But because Aswad was a “second-tier” supplier, it was not part of their auditing programme.
Both companies said they were “deeply sorry” to hear of the fire, but said they had no direct relationship with the factory. Fire official Zafar Ahmed said 10 bodies were found inside the factory and that people were injured while trying to escape.
Journalist Iqbal Ahmed said the fire occurred when the factory was closed, but some employees were working overtime.
A fire official said the blaze spread to two nearby buildings that also housed garment factories, but that firefighters had doused the flames in two of the buildings and were seeking to bring the blaze under control in the third. He could not immediately say whether any people were still trapped inside. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
