Western brands accused in latest South Asia garment factory fire

DHAKA (AFP) - Western garment firms have been accused of hiding behind flimsy safety audits after the latest lethal garment factory fire in South Asia, where poorly paid workers often toil in dangerous conditions.

The night shift at the Tazreen Fashion plant outside the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka was hard at work when the blaze erupted late on Saturday, killing 110 employees, with many trapped inside unable to escape the flames and smoke.

Garment workers staged mass protests on Monday to demand an end to "death trap" labour conditions at garment factories.

The latest fire came after 289 people died in Pakistan's port city of Karachi in September, in a similar blaze that again highlighted the export garment sector's dismal safety record.