By Serajul Quadir
DHAKA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A huge fire on Friday destroyed aBangladesh garment factory supplying key Western brands,authorities said, in a blaze touched off by workers angered overrumours of a colleague's death in police firing.
Garments are a vital sector for the South Asian nation,whose low wages and duty-free access to Western markets havehelped make it the world's second-largest apparel exporter afterChina.
But a series of deadly incidents, including an Aprilbuilding collapse that killed more than 1,100 people, hastriggered global concern over weak safety standards in the$22-billion garment industry.
There were no initial reports of casualties in Friday'sfire, which gutted a ten-storey building at Gazipur, 40 km (25miles) from the capital, Dhaka. Fire fighters were battling toput out the fire in four adjacent buildings.
"We are still struggling to control the flames," said fireofficial Mahbubur Rahman, adding that 22 fire service and civildefence units from Dhaka and nearby areas were scrambled tofight the fire.
A Reuters photographer at the scene said burnt garmentsstrewn on the floors bore brand names from U.S. retailers suchas American Eagle Outfitters Inc, Gap Inc andWal-Mart Stores Inc.
Other brands on the clothes included Li and Fung Ltd, Marks and Spencer Group PLC, Sears Canada Inc, Fast Retailing Co Ltd's Uniqlo andInditex S.A. brand Zara.
The factory was among the ten biggest in the country, said Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of industry body theBangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
With the factory destroyed, workers there stood to losetheir jobs, he added. "Now all the workers are at risk ofbecoming jobless," he said.
As many as 18,000 people worked at the factory, its owner,Mosharraf Hossain, told Reuters. But they had left the buildingby 11 p.m., shortly before the fire started.
A police official in charge of the area dismissed asbaseless the claim that a worker had died in the firing, addingthat a group of workers assisted by locals had set the fire.
"We are investigating to find out the reason for thisheinous act," said Mohammad Kamruzzaman, the officer in chargeof the Joydevpur police station that guards the area.
Police and witnesses said tempers flared after a mosqueloudspeaker announcement of a worker's death in police firing todisperse a road blockade by workers who had skirmished withpolice near the factory on Thursday morning.
Police broke up that clash with tear gas, but hundreds ofworkers gathered later, vandalized the factory, set twobuildings on fire, and blockaded the road, said MushfiqurRahman, a manager at Standard Garments, a firm in the building.
Police had to fire shots in the air to break up the workers'blockade and let in fire fighters, he told reporters.
The recent string of accidents in Bangladesh has put thegovernment, industrialists and the global brands that use thefactories under pressure to reform an industry that employs fourmillion people and generates 80 percent of export earnings.
Marks & Spencer (MKS)