Hundreds of RMG workers, officials fall sick after eating at factory's picnic in Narayanganj

Hundreds of workers and officials have fallen ill after having lunch at the annual picnic of Epic-1 Garments located in Adamji EPZ of Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj.

At least 58 have been treated at Victoria General and Khanpur 300-bed hospitals in Narayanganj city, said Adamjee EPZ Executive Director Moshiuddin Mesbah.

The patients admitted to the hospital said after lunch, there was a cultural program that continued till the evening.

In the evening, people started falling ill one by one. Many suffering from stomach aches started vomiting.

At first, they were treated at Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) Hospital, but as the number of patients increased, many were sent to other nearby hospitals as well.

“After a few hours of eating in the afternoon, I vomited several times. I saw that many others are getting sick like me. Then we were brought to the hospital in a factory car,” said Aziz, the factory’s quality officer.

Narayanganj Victoria General Hospital Resident Doctor Sheikh Farhad said, “We have about 22 people admitted here and more than 50 have received first aid. They had gotten sick because of food poisoning.”

Although there is no official statement from Epic 1 Garments, an official of the factory seeking anonymity said, “We organise picnics every year. I don’t understand why this happened this time. Action will be taken against the chef. Apart from two government hospitals in Narayanganj, many have taken treatment at Alif General and Pro Active hospitals in Siddhirganj.”

Siddhirganj police station Inspector (Operation) Habibur Rahman said, “We are aware of the matter. We are investigating the incident. But no written complaint has been filed so far.”