Deadly Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a massive fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
Up 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.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The devastating event has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the South Asian economy.
