Deadly Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were burned beyond recognition, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still missing.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports reported.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when ignited.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he noted.
Crying family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major provider of export earnings for the nation.
