Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 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 increase.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also releases hazardous smoke when burned.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the security issues facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
