Dhaka: At least 50 people, including three firefighters and policemen, were injured Sunday in clashes that erupted after thousands of Bangladesh garment workers attacked a fire station in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka.
Eyewitnesses said the workers vandalised 10-12 vehicles and went berserk following a brawl with some firemen, reports Xinhua.
According to police and eyewitnesses, a bus carrying garment workers of a factory damaged a footpath in front of the fire station while taking a u-turn in the morning.
As a fireman shouted at them, the workers got off the bus and got locked in a brawl with the fire officials.
Spurred by rumours that a female garment worker was tortured by the firemen, thousands of workers from nearby factories rushed to the scene and attacked the fire station, eyewitnesses said.
A police official said the agitating workers entered the fire station and smashed all window panes and furniture, leaving three officials injured.
He said huge street clashes erupted when police arrived and tried to disperse the crowd by firing rubber-bullets and lobbing tear-gas canisters. The worker looted office equipment and torched a motorcycle and two vehicles of the station. The workers then blocked a highway and damaged many vehicles.
Clashes once again broke out when police tried to evict the workers from the highway to lift the blockade.
The agitating workers claimed that some of their female colleagues were manhandled by the firemen.
