Garment factory blaze kills at least 112

Fire raced through a garment factory that supplies major retailers in the West, killing at least 112 people, many of whom were trapped by the flames because the eight-story building lacked emergency exits, an official said yesterday.

The blaze broke out late on Saturday at a factory just outside Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, operated by Tazreen Fashions, a subsidiary of the Tuba Group, which makes products for Wal-Mart and other companies in the US and Europe.

Firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, Major Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, told The Associated Press. He said 12 other people who were injured after they jumped from the building to escape died in hospital.