Tragic Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their family members still not found.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around midday, was brought under control after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic 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 department chief the department director told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the security issues affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
