Tragic Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Claims a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
At least 16 persons have died after a huge fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the number of victims could increase.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant source of export earnings for the country.
