23 workers killed in factory stampede

At least 23 textile workers have been killed and nearly 100 injured in a stampede at a factory in Bangladesh.

A false fire alarm caused them to flee their seven-storey factory building in a Dhaka suburb.

The workers, mostly women, panicked and scrambled down the cramped staircase after an electric short circuit set off a fire alarm.

Most of the victims were either trampled to death or fell off the stairs in their hurry to get away.

Sixteen people died on the spot and seven succumbed to injuries in hospital.

The building in Mirpur houses three garment factories, employing more than 2,500 workers.