Factory blaze ‘sabotage’

Bangladesh said a fire that killed 111 textile workers was sabotage as protesters took to the streets for a second day and garment factories across the world’s second biggest clothes exporter stopped work to mourn.

The country’s worst-ever industrial blaze broke out on Saturday and consumed a multi-storey building of a Tazreen Fashions factory. More than 150 workers were injured.

The fire has put a spotlight on global retailers which source clothes from Bangladesh, where the cost of labour is low — as little as the equivalent of €28 a month for some — and rights groups have called on big-brand firms to sign up to a fire safety programme.