Deadly Apparel Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service stated.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources indicated.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he noted.
Crying family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the nation.