As there is no official figure regarding the number of casualties in fire, the death toll so far has been based on newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, as of last evening, 54 people are confirmed dead and over 100 injured in Thursday night's fire at a composite textile factory in the BSCIC Industrial Area of the port city, the worst in the country's history.

President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Tipu Munshi offhand said some 300 garment workers might have died in fire and stampede set off by fire or fire alarm in the last 20 years.

In most of the fire incidents, the casualties go high as the factories keep their main gates shut and as a result, the workers struggle to make a quick exit even during an emergency.

A top official of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) said almost all the factories do not comply with the safety rules.

On condition of anonymity, he said most of the factories keep their entrances locked, flouting the safety rules. He said many of them even lack fire exits, emergency lights, searchlight boxes with batteries and enough water to put out fire.

"Many have double stairs, but the alternative stairs usually remain occupied by goods and they lack enough light," he said, adding that according to the FSCD law, it is mandatory for the factories to have an emergency exit to prevent casualties. But the provision is grossly ignored.

Garment workers' leaders often complain that the country's garment factories have virtually become death traps for the workers as most of them lack fire-fighting equipment and other safety measures.

Besides, many of the factory owners have a tendency to ignore the safety rules such as keeping heat and smoke detectors and an alternative electricity system.

The authorities responsible for ensuring a safe atmosphere for thousands of garment workers too seem indifferent to taking actions against the owners failing to maintain basic safety measures.

Moreover, lack of knowledge on the part of garment workers about how to use safety measures including emergency exits and fire extinguishers are also a reason behind higher causalities, say sources in the sector, the top earner of foreign currency for the country.

Many of the factories have emergency exits but in most cases of fire and other mishaps in the past, panicky workers did not use those and rushed to the staircase together, resulting in deaths and injuries in stampede, added the sources.

In recent months, at least 23 people died in fire at Shaan Knitting and Processing Limited in Narayanganj on January 7 last year, six at a spinning mill in Shafipur of Gazipur on February 9, and five at a label-making factory in Tejgaon Industrial Area on January 20.

On May Day 2004, seven female workers were killed in a stampede while trying to rush out of a garment factory in Mirpur following a transformer blast nearby.

Sources allege many factories in the capital operate precariously with faulty electric wire, switchboard and other electric instruments.

According to an estimate of the BGMEA, there are about 3,600 garment factories across the country, and of them, nearly 2,600 are in the capital and on its suburbs.

The BGMEA president said all factories have emergency exits and fire extinguishers.

"An accident is always an accident. Still, we try to compensate the workers and their families for injuries and losses of life. In every case of accidental death, we give the victim's family Tk 1 lakh," he said.

In response to two cases filed against two garment factories seven years ago, the High Court had issued a ruling asking the factory owners to ensure security for the workers during working hours in garment factories.

Sramik Nirapatta Forum Coordinator Hamida Hossain told the BBC Bangla Service yesterday that none bothers to obey the court's order.

The High Court order says every factory must keep the doors open during working period, but most factory owners do the opposite, she observed.

She also suggested forming a monitoring committee drawing representatives from government, factory owners and workers to make sure no more incidents of fire occur in the factories.