Devastating Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been recovered but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent 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 fully extinguished, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs numerous of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
