Devastating Apparel Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when burned.
Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Crying family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to reporters.
The tragic incident has yet again underscored the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the South Asian economy.
