At least 52 people were killed in a fire at a Bangladesh food and beverage factory, with many trapped in the building due to an illegally locked door, the Associated Press reports. First responders have only been able to search the first floor of the five story building.
The Thursday night fire at Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka, sent black plumes of smoke into the sky. Officials initially stated that only three people were known to have died in the fire, but upon searching the grounds, they found a pile of bodies stacked at the locked front door of the factory.
More than two dozen people were injured after jumping from the upper floors to escape the fire and smoke.
Sajeeb Group, which runs the factory, is a subsidiary of a Pakistani conglomerate. It produces products sold in Australia, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bhutan, Nepal and nations in the Middle East and Africa.