Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a massive fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the fatality count could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the country.
