Devastating Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their dear ones still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Up until 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 determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he noted.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the nation.
