Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have died after a massive fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts indicated.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits poisonous gases when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a significant provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
