Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could increase.
16 bodies have been recovered but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around noon, was put out after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.
The devastating event has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of foreign revenue for the nation.
