The burnt out corpses of the sewing machines all laid out in a grid, had the appearance of a graveyard. For many of the workers at Tazreen Fashions, that’s exactly what it was. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Bales of cotton on either side of the stairs were in flames that workers had to go through to escape the fire. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Stairs on either side of the huge hallway were the only exits to the factory. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Section of the 2nd floor. One of the two floors most badly affected by the fire. 3rd December. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World The sign on the 2nd floor with instructions in case of fire, credits the German company KIK, one of the major buyers. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Rooms for the officers were also affected, but the ceiling fans on the 2nd floor had not shrivelled like the ones on the floor below. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World BGMEA the garment owner’s association had issued a certificate verifying the credentials of the fire fighting staff of Tazreen Fashions Ltd. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Quite apart from the fact that officers had sent back fleeing workers and told them to get back to work, not even the most rudimentary fire fighting equipment, like these buckets appear to have been used, despite the BGMEA certificate. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World The first aid box on the 2nd floor had also not been used. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World One of the many fire extinguishers that had not been used. 1st floor Tazreen Fashions. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World
Unused hose pipe on stairway. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Marks made by workers on the soot on the staircase during the scramble to safety. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World More hand marks on the charred walls. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World While the work done and time keeping is meticulously monitored, similar rigour does not appear to have been applied to working conditions. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World C&A one of the major chainstores who buy clothes produced by Tazreen Fashions. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World
The cheap clothes that cost lives. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Garment workers had their own fashion needs. Artificial hair left behind as the owner tried to flee the fire. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Some tried to bend the metal window rods in a futile bid to escape. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World Button and cord eyelets strewn on the floor. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World A sandal left behind. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World I first thought it was a water sprinkler and was impressed at the abundance across the floor. It was then that I realised this was the carcass of a ceiling fan. The marks on the ceiling were made by smoke as it flowed over the cracked paint. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World With the gates locked by the owners, many managed to break the windows to jump out from the tall building. A few survived. Nischintopur. Savar. Dhaka. Bangladesh. 3rd December 2012. ? Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World
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