Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a massive fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a significant contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.
