Deadly Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service stated.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.
The devastating event has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
