Tragic Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the death toll could increase.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service reported.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still not found.
The blaze, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The devastating event has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
