Bangladesh factory fire: At least 23 killed and dozens injured after blaze in Tongi

It took 20 teams of firefighters nearly five hours to bring the blaze under control

Flames rise as a fire breaks out at a factory in the Tongi industrial area (Getty Images )

At least 23 people have been killed and dozens injured after a huge fire engulfed a food and cigarette packing factory in Bangladesh.

Emergency officials fear the death toll could rise after an explosion in the five-story Tampaco Foils Ltd factory's boiler room triggered the blaze at around 6am on Saturday.

The fire in the Tongi industrial zone, about 12 miles from the capital of Dhaka, spread quickly due to flammable chemicals stored at the site.

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire at a factory in the Tongi industrial area (Getty Images)

At least six of the 14 people being treated for burns at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital were in a critical condition, police official Mohammed Bacchu Mia said.

Local TV stations said about 50 people had been injured and footage showed smoke billowing from the factory.

It took 20 teams of firefighters nearly five hours to bring the blaze under control and vast quantities of burned materials and chemicals had to be removed from the building to prevent the fire from spreading.

A fire official said that although the blaze was under control, there were still flames inside the building so fire fighters had been unable to search the debris.

Authorities have ordered an investigation into the fire, which caused the partial collapse of the factory building.

Syed Mokbul Hossain, the owner of the Tampaco Foils factory, said around 75 people had been scheduled to work the overnight shift on the last working day at the factory before worker's went on leave for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha on Tuesday.

Firefighters work to put out a fire at a packaging factory in Tongi (AP)

Mohammad Nayan, a worker who was helping with rescue efforts, told reporters around 100 people had been inside the building when the fire broke out.

Mr Hossain, whose factory's clients include global brands such as British American Tabacco and Nestle, said he was not sure when the boiler was last inspected.

He said: "My company is fully compliant and I've never sacrificed on quality, as my clients are mainly multinational companies.

"Now my only focus is on my workers who were injured and on those who died.”

Factory safety has been a major concern in Bangladesh, which has thousands of garment and packaging factories, following a number of industrial disasters in recent years.

A fire at a garment factory in a Dhaka suburb killed 112 workers in 2012 and a year later, a commercial complex near Dhaka housing five garment factories collapsed, killing 1,135 people - Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster.

The disaster led to the creation of two international coalitions designed to help fund improvements to building and fire safety at thousands of garment factories across Bangladesh.

Syed Ahmed, the head of the Department of Inspection for factories in Bangladesh, told Reuters: "So far our focus was only on readymade garment factories, but now this disaster has opened our eyes to the fact that we should also focus on other factories,"

Additional reporting by agencies