Eight workers taking a nap after their night shift sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a chemical factory in the district’s Rupganj upazila in the early hours of Wednesday.

Deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defense, Abdullah Arefin, said that the blaze broke out at Lily Chemical Factory in the Dakkin Golakandail area of the upazila at 3am and spread soon.

On information, three fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them over an hour to douse the flames.

The victims have been identified as Bayezid, Rokon, Khademul, Sajeeb, Ripon, Mehedi, Russel and Akalur. All the injured are being treated at Dhaka Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Firemen suspect an electrical short-circuit could have triggered the inferno. “Anyway, a probe is on to ascertain the exact cause of the fire,” said Arefin.

Workers often stay back and sleep on factory floors after their night shift due to lack of public transport post-midnight.