Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.
Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The devastating event has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the country.
