Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 individuals have died after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still not found.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Police and military officers are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major source of economic income for the country.
