Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 individuals have lost their lives after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were burned beyond recognition, the fire service stated.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was brought under control after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the country.