Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could rise.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he expressed to news media.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.
