Deadly Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he told news media.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the country.
