Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the fire department stated.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Crying family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he expressed to reporters.
The devastating event has yet again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a major source of economic income for the South Asian economy.
