Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the fatality count could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official told journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.
