Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred beyond recognition, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, 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.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.
The tragic incident has once again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant source of export earnings for the nation.
