Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
At least 16 persons have died after a huge fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
16 bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost 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 haven't found her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The devastating event has another time underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major provider of economic income for the country.
