Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still not found.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around midday, was brought under control after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
Until 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 established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he noted.
Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a major source of economic income for the country.
