Nine workers have died in a gas cylinder explosion at Pretty Composite Textiles Ltd in Ashulia, Savar, according to a preliminary assessment from the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry.

The Accord issued the statement after a fire ripped through the Bangladesh garment factory and damaged vehicles parked in an adjacent liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) storage area. The death toll stood at nine at the time of the Accord's statement; the number of injured workers has not been disclosed.

What does the preliminary assessment establish?

The Accord's preliminary finding attributes the explosion to a gas cylinder, placing the incident outside the boiler, electrical fault and sewing-floor hazard categories that typically account for Bangladesh garment factory fires. Gas and fuel storage sits inside the Accord's fire-safety inspection checklist, which covers structural elements, electrical wiring, boiler rooms and on-site fuel handling.

Accord inspectors conduct periodic safety assessments at signatory factories and publish remediation notices when buildings, equipment or working conditions fall below the programme's standards. Signatory brands receive these reports directly and can act on remediation deadlines before placing new orders. A fatality-linked incident automatically opens a re-inspection cycle and can pause shipments from the affected site while the Accord completes its full assessment.

What compliance questions does this raise?

• Whether the LPG and CNG zone complied with the factory's approved fire-safety layout
• Whether cylinder handling fell within the scope of the most recent Accord safety training cycle
• Whether the buyer cohort currently active at the site has an open remediation item under the Accord's hazard log
• Whether the incident affects the factory's standing in the Accord's safety programme

How should sourcing teams respond?

Brands and retailers with nominated production at Pretty Composite Textiles should:

• Pull the factory's most recent Accord inspection report and remediation status
• Confirm worker counts and order volumes currently running at the site
• Track the full Accord assessment before authorising new orders
• Flag the incident in supplier ESG disclosures for the current reporting period
• Verify that contracted finished-goods suppliers are not routing orders through the affected facility as a subcontractor

Ashulia sits inside the Savar industrial belt on the outskirts of Dhaka. The area hosts hundreds of woven, knit and finishing plants that supply European and US retail programmes and has been the focus of intensive Accord oversight since 2013, when a separate factory collapse prompted the founding of the current Accord framework. Recurring fatal incidents in this geography keep the remediation regime under close review from buyers, trade unions and donor governments that fund Accord operations.

The Accord's statement did not name the buyers currently sourcing from Pretty Composite Textiles or the factory's exact headcount. That information is expected to surface through the Accord's full report and through the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) factory database. Until that picture clears, sourcing desks should hold new authorisations at the site and engage the factory's compliance team to confirm the condition of remaining gas cylinders and the status of the workforce.