Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 people have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated beyond recognition, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official briefed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he added.
Tearful family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately 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 loved one back," he stated to reporters.
The tragic incident has another time emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
