A fire that started at a juice factory on Thursday evening killed at least 52, and more than 20 people have been injured.

Authorities said many are feared trapped inside. 

The incident happened at the Hashem Food and Beverage's juice factory which lies in Narayanganj district, 20 km southeast of the capital Dhaka.

“Three people died from jumping off the building to escape the fire and 49 charred bodies have been recovered so far,” Reuters quoted Mustain Billah, the administrator for the Narayanganj district.

“It is still burning on the top floor. Firefighters are struggling to control it, as chemicals and flammable materials were stored inside the building.”

He said that the cause of the fire is not yet known.

“Plastics and flammable substances and chemicals all made it hard to douse the fire,” Abdullah Al Arefin, a district fire service official said to Reuters. He added that the severe heat from the fire caused cracks in the building.