Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 people have died after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, 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 ignited initially.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Tearful family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the security issues facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs numerous of workers and is a major contributor to economic income for the nation.
