Tragic Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"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 expressed to reporters.
The devastating event has once again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the nation.
