Tragic Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official briefed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the security issues affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the country.
