Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"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 devastating event has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the nation.
