Factory owner: I didn't know fire exits needed
Last edited Thu Nov 29, 2012, 10:53 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP-Excite
By JULHAS ALAM
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - The owner of a Bangladesh clothing factory where a fire killed 112 people says he was never informed the facility was required to have an emergency exit, a sign of how far removed the leaders of the nation's garment industry are from issues of worker safety.
"It was my fault. But nobody told me that there was no emergency exit, which could be made accessible from outside," factory owner Delwar Hossain was quoted Thursday as telling The Daily Star newspaper. "Nobody even advised me to install one like that, apart from the existing ones."
"I could have done it. But nobody ever suggested that I do it," said Hossain, who could not be reached for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Activists in the South Asian country hope the tragedy will invigorate their lengthy - but so far fruitless - efforts to upgrade safety standards and force stronger government oversight of the powerful industry.
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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20121129/DA2RJM0G0.html
Boxes of garments lay near equipment charred in the fire that killed 112 workers Saturday at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory,on the outskirts of Dhaha, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Garments and documents left behind in the factory show it was used by a host of major American and European retailers, though at least one of them — Wal-Mart — had been aware of safety problems. Wal-Mart blames a supplier for using Tazreen Fashions without its knowledge. (AP Photo/Ashraful Alam Tito)
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