Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire service stated.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the security issues facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the country.
