Dhaka — Panic broke out in more than a dozen factories in Bangladesh’s capital as hundreds of garment workers fell ill in a heat wave, forcing the plants to close, police said on Thursday. Eighteen factories, which export clothes to Western retailers, have been shut since Wednesday after chaotic scenes saw some 30,000 workers leave in the middle of their shifts. "About 500 workers became sick [on Thursday] and were taken to hospitals. On Wednesday, 365 workers fell sick," Shoeb Ahmed, head of Gazipur industrial police, told AFP. He said some workers lost consciousness in soaring temperatures, leading to others "panicking" and leaving the factories. Mohabbat Ali, a general manager of Shareef General Hospital in Gazipur, said nearly 200 sick workers were treated at his clinic. "They were attacked by a disease called hysteria conversion reaction. We gave them saline and first aid. They were released within an hour," he told AFP. Police and hospital officials said the labourers were mal...
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