A garment factory belonging to the subsidiary of the Tuba Group,a company that does business with Walmart,Carrefour and IKEA,burned to the ground near Dhaka,the capital of Bangladesh,killing at least 124 overtime workers.The eight storey building had no emergency exits or firescapes.
Thousands of onlookers,including family members,were restrained by police and soldiers.
The fire started in the first floor warehouse,a fire service official said.It then raced up the walls,trapping the workers,many of whom were burned beyond recognition.They had been making garments such as t-shirts,polo shirts and fleece jackets.
Several workers who escaped to the roof were rescued.Twelve who jumped out of windows died in hospital.
A Walmart spokesman said it was unclear whether the factory,which had been cited for safety violations,was still doing work for the world's largest retailer.In 2011,Walmart ceased doing business with 49 of Bangladesh's estimated 4500 garment factories because of fire safety violations.It was working with its suppliers to phase out production from such high risk buildings.
Bangladesh is located on the Bay of Bengal,between India and Myanmar.It is the world's largest clothing exporter.
The Guangzhou Auto Show is being held in China this week.China is the world's largest car market.Some 18.5 million cars were sold in China in 2011.Sales are expected to grow about 7% this year.
Volkswagen expects to become the world's largest automaker through its Chinese business,much of which is conducted with Chinese partners.While it will produce 1 million cars in Germany this year,VW will roll 2.7 million vehicles off its Chinese assembly lines.
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