'Nasima, the factory is on fire... save me': A husband's last call before silence
A devastating fire that broke out at the factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Mirpur today (14 October) has so far claimed 16 lives. Many others remain missing, leaving families in anguish as they search desperately for their loved ones.
"Nasima, the factory is on fire… save me!" — these were the last words Nasima Begum heard from her husband before the phone went disconnected. Since then, she has not heard from him again.
With trembling hands and tearful eyes, Nasima recounted her final conversation with her husband, Nazmul Islam, who worked on the second floor of a garments factory in Mirpur's Shialbari area.
A devastating fire that broke out at the factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Mirpur today (14 October) has so far claimed 16 lives. Many others remain missing, leaving families in anguish as they search desperately for their loved ones.
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"I still can't find him," Nasima said, her voice breaking. "He called me around 11:30am and said there was a fire. Since then, I've searched everywhere — Dhaka Medical College, Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital, Ibn Sina — but he's nowhere to be found."
According to the Fire service, several of the injured have been admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in critical condition.
Lt Col Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (operations and maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that 12 firefighting units were working to douse the flames at the site.
On-site reports show that members of the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, and other law enforcement bodies have been deployed to control the situation.
Hundreds of eyewitnesses have gathered around the scene, watching in shock as rescuers battle the fire and relatives continue their desperate search.
