Deadly Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Claims at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still not found.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he noted.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a significant contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
