Devastating Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 persons have died after a massive fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned beyond recognition, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their family members still missing.
The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he noted.
Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the nation.
