Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the death toll could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.
Tearful family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the country.
