Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated impossible to identify, the firefighters stated.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.
The devastating event has another time highlighted the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
