Deadly Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned beyond recognition, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.
Crying family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs countless of workers and is a significant contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.
