Deadly Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which started at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the country.
