Devastating Apparel Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Claims at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could increase.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the nation.
