50 injured as Bangladesh garment workers attack fire station

Some 50 people, including three firefighters and cops, were injured in clashes erupted after thousands of Bangladesh garment workers attacked a fire station in Savar on the outskirts capital Dhaka on Sunday morning. Eyewitnesses said the unruly workers vandalized 10-12 vehicles. The workers went berserk following a brawl with some firemen, they said. According to police and eyewitnesses, a bus carrying garment workers of factory rammed in to a footpath in front of the fire service office while taking a u-turn at about 7:30 a.m. local time. As an on-duty fireman shouted at them, the workers got down off the bus and locked into a brawl with the officials of the fire station. Spurred by rumors that a female garment worker had been tortured by the firemen, according to the eyewitnesses, thousands of workers from nearby factories rushed to the scene and attacked the fire station. A police official who preferred to be unnamed said the agitating workers entered the fire station and vandalized all the window panes and furniture, leaving three officials injured. He said huge street clashes erupted when police arrived and tried to disperse the situation by firing rubber-bullets and lobbing tear-gas canisters. The unruly worker looted office equipment and torched a motorcycle and two vehicles of the fire service office. The workers then blocked a highway where they also damaged many vehicles to bring traffic near to a halt for one hour and a half. Clashes once again broke out as police tried to evict the workers from the highway to lift the blockade. Locals said at least 50 people were injured during the clashes which lasted for about two hours. The agitating workers, however, claimed that some of their female colleagues were manhandled by firemen.