Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been recovered but were burned unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still not found.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring 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 completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant contributor to economic income for the nation.
