Reports: Exit locked at burned Bangladesh factory

(AP) An official says Bangladesh's government has ordered an investigation into allegations that the sole emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where a weekend fire killed seven female workers.

The fire Saturday at the Smart Export Garment Ltd. factory occurred just two months after a blaze killed 112 workers in another factory near the capital, raising questions about safety in Bangladesh's garment industry, which exports clothes to leading Western retailers. The gates of that factory were locked.

Government official Jahangir Kabir Nanak says an investigation has been ordered into the cause of Saturday's fire and allegations that the emergency exit was locked.

Doctors say most of the victims died from asphyxiation.