Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
