Two dead, 100 hurt in factory riot

TONGI, Bangladesh, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Two people died and 100 were injured during a confrontation between police and unpaid workers at a Bangladesh garment factory, authorities said Sunday.

The four-hour long riot in Tongi erupted Saturday when several hundred workers learned the Nippon Garments factory had closed without paying them three months in back wages, The Bangladesh Daily Star reported.

Factory officials blamed the sour global economy for the closing.

The injured included 16 police officers and at least 12 civilians who were hospitalized with injuries from rubber police bullets, The Star reported.

The rioters -- most of them women -- hurled rocks, bricks and homemade bombs at police, who fired back with rubber bullets and teargas, police spokesman Tapan Saha said.

More than 1,500 police officers were deployed to other garment factories in the area Sunday as a precaution, Saha said.