Dhaka, September 3

A Bangladesh court today ordered two garment factory owners and 11 others to stand trial for causing the death of 111 workers, almost three years after the country’s worst industrial fire.

Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Akter were formally charged over the blaze that tore through the Tazreen factory on Dhaka’s outskirts, trapping workers who stitched clothes for western retailers.

“The court charged the 13 including Delwar and his wife with causing death by negligence,” prosecutor Khandakar Abdul Mannan said outside the district court in Dhaka. “The judge ordered a trial from October 1 when witness testimonies will be recorded,” Mannan told AFP.

The November 2012 fire shone an international spotlight on appalling safety and other conditions in Bangladesh’s $25 billion garment industry.

But the disaster was followed by an even bigger tragedy less than 12 months later, when the nine-storey Rana Plaza garment complex collapsed killing 1,138 people.

Mannan said the 13 charged over the blaze, who also include factory managers and security guards, face a maximum of 10 years in jail if convicted of their roles in the fire.

Eight of those charged, including the owners, were present in court today, while the five others were still on the run, he said.