At least 51 people have been killed in a fire at a textile mill in Bangladesh, police say.

More than 100 others were injured in the blaze in the south-eastern port city of Chittagong.

Soldiers were brought in to take over rescue work from firefighters, after the fire reduced a three-storey building to rubble.

At least 500 workers were inside the mill when the fire broke out. Officials are trying to establish the cause.

The BBC's Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says the blaze has been described by officials as the country's worst ever factory fire.

Most of the survivors had to jump from windows as the only exit from the factory was reportedly locked when the fire broke out, a fire department official, Rashidul Islam Majumder, told the BBC.

No factory representatives were available for comment.

Short circuit

The fire broke out late on Thursday at the KTS Textile Mills.

Most of the victims were women, who were trapped by the flames or suffocated from smoke inhalation.

Colonel Munshi Mizanur Rahman of the Bangladesh army told AFP news agency that the search had been concluded during the night.

"We have searched every room of the factory. We don't think there are any more dead bodies inside. Our rescue operation is over," he said.

Initial reports suggested that the fire might have been caused by an electrical short circuit.

"The main gate was locked when we heard a loud noise followed by fire and an electricity cut," a factory worker told a Bangladesh television station.

"Some neighbours cut open the window grilles to help us out of the factory," he added.

Rescuers said the fire had spread quickly through the four-storey building because of stacks of yarn piled up on the floors. The explosion of a boiler had escalated the blaze, witnesses said.

A doctor at a local hospital told AFP that 25 people were in a critical condition.

Poor record

Textiles make up about 85% of Bangladesh's exports, earning the country some 6bn US dollar annually.

However, the industry has been plagued by accidents due to poor safety standards.

In 2000, at least 48 workers died when a locked fire exit left them trapped in a burning factory near the capital, Dhaka.

Last April, more than 60 people died when an illegally-constructed garment factory collapsed.

PHOTO CAPTION

Rescue workers remove bodies of people who died in a fire at a textile mill in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on Friday. (AP)

BBC