By Julhas Alam

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) - A nine-story garment factory collapsed after a boiler exploded early Monday, killing at least four people and trapping at least 200 others in the rubble, police and rescue workers said.

At least 300 people - many of them women - were in the sweater-making factory at the time of the disaster in this industrial town about 20 miles northwest of the capital, Dhaka, police said.

Rescuers recovered four bodies and rescued at least 27 injured workers. A manager at the factory said dozens of other workers had also been rescued.

But about 200 people remained trapped in the debris, said Selim Newaz Bhuiyan, a fire brigade official at the scene.

Rescuers used welding machines to cut holes in the rubble to try to reach people or pump air to survivors. Anxious relatives joined soldiers and firefighters who used bare hands and crowbars to remove rubble.

``My brother was working in the factory. He is missing,'' said Munni Akthar, who works in another garment factory.

The government has ordered an investigation into the accident, Lutfozzaman Babar, junior home minister, said after visiting the site. The collapsed factory was built on a swamp three years ago, workers said.