Over 100 garment workers fall ill after drinking water at Gazipur factory

More than 100 workers of a garment factory in Gazipur’s Kaliakair upazila fell ill after reportedly consuming drinking water supplied at the workplace.

The incident took place at Dressman Garments in the Chandra area on Thursday morning (June 18).

As per reports, workers began experiencing symptoms including vomiting, dizziness, headaches and severe physical weakness shortly after starting work.

Police visited the factory after receiving reports of the incident.

According to workers and police, employees joined their shifts as usual around 8:00am. However, from around 9:30am, a large number of workers started falling sick one after another. As the situation worsened, factory authorities and co-workers rushed the affected workers to Kaliakair Upazila Health Complex and several nearby hospitals for treatment.

Following the incident, the factory declared a one-day holiday and suspended operations as a precautionary measure.

Several workers alleged that the illnesses began after they drank water supplied by the factory. They also claimed an unusual foul smell had spread inside parts of the factory premises around the same time, which may have contributed to the workers’ discomfort.

Factory Assistant Administrative Officer Atikul Islam said water samples had been collected and sent to a laboratory for testing. He noted that recent heavy rainfall had caused waterlogging in surrounding areas and that many of the affected workers came from those localities. Preliminary observations suggest the incident may be linked to contaminated water, though the exact cause has yet to be confirmed.

Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kaliakair Police Station, said, "Additional police had been deployed to maintain security while the factory authorities arranged medical treatment for the affected workers.

Factory authorities said the exact cause of the mass illness would be determined after laboratory test results become available.