Bangladesh fire leaves 112 dead

Police have arrested three officials of a Bangladesh factory where 112 people died, the Associated Press reports.

The arrested are suspected of locking the factory's doors.

The factory in Bangladesh where a fire over the weekend killed at least 112 people had been making clothes for US retail giant Wal-Mart without its knowledge, the retailer said.

Wal-Mart said that the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory was no longer authorised to produce merchandise for Wal-Mart, but that a supplier subcontracted work to it "in direct violation of our policies".

"Today [Monday], we have terminated the relationship with that supplier," America's biggest retailer said in a statement. "The fact that this occurred is extremely troubling to us, and we will continue to work across the apparel industry to improve fire safety education and training in Bangladesh."

The blaze on Saturday was one of the deadliest fires of its kind in Bangladesh. Survivors told the Associated Press that an exit door was locked, fire extinguishers didn't work and that the staff were told by their bosses to go back to their sewing machines when the fire alarm went off.

Firefighters continue to fight a fatal clothing factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

It is thought that over 100 people died in the blaze - the most ever killed in a Bangladesh factory fire.

Firefighters and soldiers are still pulling the victims out of the nine-storey building, a day after the fire broke out at the Tazreen Fashion factory.

Most of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition when staff were trapped inside - unable to escape through narrow exits.

The cause of the fire has not been identified.

Poor wiring and locked fire doors often contribute to the hazards in Bangladesh, where factory fires are common.

A fire in a garment factory in the outskirts of the capital of Bangladesh has killed more than 100 people, according to the fire brigade.

The blaze at the nine-story Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashuila industrial belt of Dhaka started on the ground floor late on Saturday and spread, trapping hundreds of workers.

Witnesses said the workers, mostly women, ran for safety as the fire engulfed the plant, but were unable to get through narrow exits.

At least 120 people have died in a factory blaze, the Dhaka's chief of the fire brigade said making it the worst accident for the booming garment industry in recent years.

Many of the victims died as they jumped from the building to escape the flames, a police official said, while witnesses added the death toll could rise.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.

Bangladesh has around 4,500 garment factories that make clothes for brands including Tesco, Wal-Mart, JC Penney, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Kohl's and Carrefour.

Ready made garments make up 80 percent of the country's $24 billion annual exports.

A least nine people were killed and more than 100 were injured when a fire swept through a garment factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, police and witnesses said.

The fire started on the ground floor of a nine-story factory in the Ashulia industrial belt and quickly spread. Firefighters took nearly five hours to extinguish the flames.