Homicide Charges in Factory Fire

A Bangladesh court on Tuesday charged six factory owners with homicide after 112 workers died in a fire at their facility in 2012. The six have fled, although officials said that if they don’t return by February, they could be tried in absentia. The six owners could face life in prison, if convicted. According to fire investigators, security guards told the workers the blaze was just part of a regular fire drill. These are the first charges in the country for garment factory owners, despite a series of deadly disasters that shed light on the country’s lax safety policies. In a separate incident in April, 1,100 workers were killed when a factory building collapsed.