Tragic Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a huge fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the fire service stated.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their family members still not found.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official told the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The devastating event has once again underscored the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
