Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Claims no Fewer than 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
16 bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department stated.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to reporters.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
