A terrible death of an RMG worker in washing machine

A garment factory worker in Gazipur lost his life while working inside a washing machine.

The deceased, Noyon Mia, 22, was an assistant operator at Giant Textile Limited in Gazipur. He lived in a rented house in the Memberpara area of the district.

His shift starting at 8am was supposed to end at 8pm on Saturday. But one of his colleagues asked him to stay longer for additional work, said Mirazul Islam, additional superintendent of Gazipur police.

"The next shift was not notified of Noyon's presence inside the washing machine," Mirazul said, adding, "At about 8pm, Noyon entered the washing machine to load fabrics. The operator from the next shift saw fabric in the washing machine and turned it on, unaware that Noyon was inside."

Noyon became entangled with the fabrics and suffered burns in hot water.

At about 3am, when the operator went to retrieve the fabrics, he saw Noyon's body inside the machine and screamed. Other officials rushed in.

Contacted over the incident, Omaar Faruk, general manager admin of the factory, said, "We are shocked at the accident that took place at our factory with one of our colleagues. We informed the police right away and asked for a thorough investigation of how this unfortunate incident took place. We are fully cooperating with the police."

"We have also formed an internal investigation committee immediately. We are also fully with the victim's family. We are standing by this family in this difficult time," he added.

Ema Akter, Noyon's wife, alleged that factory authorities frequently kept him working two hours beyond his scheduled shift.

"They regularly forced him into extra work. His main job was to move fabrics, yet he would be assigned to work in the washing machine without training or an operator," she claimed.

She said her husband likely entered the machine without understanding its operation.

Ema also said the factory authorities handed over Noyon's body to the police without informing the family. "I learned of his death in the morning." 

Sohel Rana, the factory manager, said Noyon was kept for extra hours due to work pressure.

"The machine operator went on a tiffin break while Noyon was loading fabrics. When the operator returned and didn't see Noyon, he assumed the machine was clear and turned it on," he said.

Abdul Latif, inspector of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said Noyon had been compelled to work overtime, and he died due to the factory authorities' negligence.

Abdul Halim, officer-in-charge of Joydebpur Police Station, said police recovered Noyon's body on information and sent it to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

He said police detained eight factory officials for questioning. "Legal actions will be taken based on the family's complaint."