Devastating Garment Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The devastating event has another time emphasized the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.
