Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have died after a huge fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a significant contributor to export earnings for the nation.