Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned beyond recognition, the fire service reported.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still missing.
The blaze, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports indicated.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.
