Deadly Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 people have perished after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director briefed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the South Asian economy.
