Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities said.
Up 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 determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages millions of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the country.
