Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the death toll could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.
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 reported.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again highlighted the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the nation.
