Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the death toll could increase.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their dear ones still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Tearful family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The tragic incident has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the nation.
