Tragic Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 persons have lost their lives after a massive fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could rise.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports reported.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director told journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"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 stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the security issues facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages millions of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the nation.
