Devastating Garment Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
At least 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been recovered but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a crucial source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
