Devastating Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a massive fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing 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 stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the country.
