Deadly Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around noon, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the country.
