Deadly Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 people have perished after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their family members still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director told journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.
Tearful family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to journalists.
The devastating event has yet again underscored the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
