A devastating fire ripped through a garment factory and an adjacent illegal chemical warehouse in Dhaka’s Mirpur area on October 14, 2025, killing at least 16 people, mostly female workers, and injuring several others. The blaze erupted around midday on the third floor of the seven-storey Anwar Fashion Garments factory, quickly spreading to the Shah Alam Chemical Warehouse storing highly flammable bleaching powder, plastics, and hydrogen peroxide, officials said. Fire service director Tajul Islam Chowdhury reported 16 charred bodies recovered from the factory’s second and third floors, burned beyond recognition and likely killed by toxic gas inhalation from a chemical explosion.
Twelve fire units battled the inferno for over three hours to control the factory blaze, but the warehouse smoldered into the evening. Neither facility had fire safety clearances or trade licenses, highlighting chronic safety lapses in Bangladesh’s garment sector, which employs millions. Distraught relatives gathered outside, clutching photos of missing loved ones like Samia Akter, as bodies were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Rescue operations continue amid fears of more casualties. This tragedy echoes past disasters, including the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that killed over 1,100. Authorities are hunting the owners, with calls for stricter inspections growing louder on social media.
