23 Dead in Explosion and Fire at Bangladesh Factory

Firefighters on a ladder spray water to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industrial area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sept. 10, 2016. A boiler exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory near Bangladesh's capital. AP Photo/A. M. Ahad

NEW DELHI—A boiler exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory near Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday, killing at least 23 workers and injuring dozens, officials said.

Fire officials said that the explosion at the five-story Tampaco Foils Ltd. factory in the Tongi industrial area outside Dhaka was huge, and that the fire triggered by the blast spread quickly because flammable chemicals were stored at the factory.

Firefighters work to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industrial area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sept. 10, 2016. AP Photo/A. M. Ahad