Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken at Least 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a enormous fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby 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 entirely put out, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial source of foreign revenue for the nation.
