At least 21 people are dead and nearly 50 injured after a fire broke out at a Bangladesh clothing factory on Thursday.

The fire raged for more than two hours about 30 miles north of the capital, Dhaka.

One factory worker says he saw at least 14 bodies being removed.

[Shahin Hamed, Factory Worker]:
"After the fire was put out I saw fourteen bodies, but later I learned that there were twenty two bodies retrieved from the factory."

The fire was brought under control after more than an hour and fire crews searched the building for the dead and injured.

The daughter of one of the victims says her mother was killed in the fire because the factory gates were locked.

[Shanaz Begum, Victim’s Daughter]:
"My mother went to the factory for her night shift duty and as the factory caught fire she could not come out as because the gate of the factory was locked and she died."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Clothing factories in Bangladesh are prone to fires as a result of poor safety standards.