Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he mentioned.
Crying family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the country.
