Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have lost their lives after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could rise.
16 bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a significant provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
