“January 26 was just an ordinary work day at the Smart Fashion Export factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh — until the fire broke out at 2:30 p.m,” Global Labour Rights said on January 29. “As heavy black smoke filled the shop floor, workers rushing to escape found locked exit doors.
“Within an hour, seven young women were dead — crushed to death in the panic or asphyxiated by the toxic smoke. Three of them were teenagers, Kohinoor, 15, Razia, 16, and Nasima, 17 years old.
The site said “Bangladesh’s labor and human rights organizations have taken to the streets once again, demanding safety and fundamental rights for Bangladesh’s four million mostly young women garment workers. The Bangladeshi Government is saying that the lives of the dead teenagers are worth $252 each.”