DHAKA -- At least 16 Bangladeshi factory workers, mostly women, were killed and 50 injured in a stampede when a fire alarm went off by mistake, police said. A short circuit triggered the alarm at the Dhaka building which houses four garment factories, police said. The workers were killed in a crush on the narrow staircase. At least 10 workers were fighting for their lives in hospital, police said. Nearly 250 people have died in fire and stampedes at garment factories in Bangladesh since 1998, according to official figures. In many cases, fire exits have been padlocked.