Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official briefed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Tearful family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
