Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their family members still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.
The devastating event has another time highlighted the security issues facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the nation.
