DHAKA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and about 50 others injured when a boiler of a knit garment factory at Gazipur on the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka went off on Monday night, a police official said.
The explosion took place at around 8:00 p.m. local time at Multifabs Ltd, an export oriented knitwear factory, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The blast at the factory's dyeing section led to a devastating fire that swept through the factory building for hours, he said.
"Eight bodies have been recovered from the accident site shortly after the accident," he said, adding that one more person succumbed to his injuries later in a hospital.
Some 50 people were injured in the explosion, said the official, adding all the injured people were rushed to local hospitals.
The death toll may rise as many people have sustained critical injuries, he said.
Ataur Rahman, a Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters official, told reporters that the ground and first floors of the four-story building partially collapsed due to the blast.
He said rescue operation was still under way. The cause of the accident is not yet clear.
A spokesman for the factory was not immediately available for comment.
