Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still missing.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs countless of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the country.
