Devastating Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 individuals have died after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still not found.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around noon, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources said.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping 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, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The devastating event has another time emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the country.
