Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a enormous fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases poisonous gases when burned.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he expressed to reporters.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages millions of workers and is a significant contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
