Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when combusted.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned 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 came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
