Dhaka, Bangladesh – A fire that broke out on Tuesday night in a clothing factory just outside the capital killed at least 10 people, according to official sources.

A spokesman for the firefighting department stated that 10 bodies were found inside the Aswad factory, in Gazipur, just outside Dhaka. Many other people were injured trying to escape from the burning building.

A local journalist, Iqbal Ahmed, said that the fire had broken out on a day in which the factory was closed, but several workers were inside working overtime.

The fire also spread to two other nearby clothing factories belonging to the Palmal Group of Industries. The causes of the fire are still unknown.

The tough working conditions, often fraught with danger, to which clothing factory workers are subjected, have sadly attracted world attention since the collapse of an eight-storey building last April, in which over 1,100 people lost their lives. Fires are not unknown in the garment industry, like for example the fire of nearly a year ago, which killed 112 workers.

Bangladesh earns 20,000 million dollars a year from the export of garments, most of which go to the USA and Europe. The sector employs 4 million people, mainly women.