Devastating Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 individuals have died after a huge fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The devastating event has another time highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.
