© Green Bangla 23 October 2025 Deadly factory fire in Bangladesh: 16 dead and many unanswered questions On 14 October 2025, a major fire broke out in a chemical warehouse and an adjacent textile factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 16 people died and many more were injured. The cause is still unclear – only: There is still a lack of basic safety standards. How the fire broke out in the densely populated neighborhood is still being investigated. According to the fire brigade, the roof hatch of the factory building was closed. Many workers were unable to escape. Many of the victims apparently suffocated from toxic fumes released during the fire of the chemicals. Local media reported that neither the plant nor the chemical warehouse had valid safety certificates or permits. There was also a lack of functioning fire protection measures. It is still unclear for which companies the factory produced. The national textile association BGMEA stated that the company was not a member of the association. The international security initiative Accord, which was founded after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building complex in 2013, also confirmed that the factory is not part of its surveillance program. Voices from Bangladesh: Protest by our partner organization Green Bangla As reported by our partner organization Green Bangla Garment Workers Federation (GBGWF), a protest rally took place in Dhaka on October 22, 2025. Together with the National Workers Unity Center (NWUC), trade unions and those affected demanded fair compensation for the families of the deceased, the payment of outstanding wages, and the prosecution of those responsible. In their statements, the speakers described the fire as “structural murder” – caused by unsafe buildings, illegal chemical storage facilities, and the complete failure of the supervisory authorities. They criticized the fact that neither the capital development authority RAJUK nor the factory inspection authority (DIFE) nor the fire safety authorities had fulfilled their supervisory duties. They pointed out that factories in Bangladesh are repeatedly operated without permits, putting workers' lives at risk every day. Structural maladministration as a permanent crisis The fire is part of a long series of fatal accidents in the Bangladeshi textile industry. The end of November marks the anniversary of the devastating Tazreen fire, in which more than 100 people died in 2012. Again and again, basic safety rules are disregarded: Closed escape routes, lack of evacuation plans, inadequate permits and chemical storage in close proximity to production. Following the Rana Plaza disaster, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety was launched in Bangladesh in 2013. It obliges international fashion companies to systematically improve the safety conditions in the factories they commission and have them independently audited. In the companies covered by the Accord, this has demonstrably led to significant progress in fire and building safety. At the same time, the current fire shows that many smaller suppliers operate outside of these control mechanisms and thus gaps in the protection of employees remain. As long as safety standards are not universal and binding, working in Bangladesh's textile factories remains life-threatening for the people who work there. Despite the proven positive impact of the Accord, many international brands have not yet signed the agreement, including large companies such as Amazon or IKEA. This shows that the protection of employees in many supply chains is still not a matter of course. © Green Bangla
