Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service reported.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their family members still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around midday, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports reported.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the nation.
