Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
At least 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages numerous of workers and is a significant contributor to economic income for the nation.
