Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a huge fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the fatality count could climb.
16 bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service reported.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their loved ones still not found.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to news media.
The devastating event has another time underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the nation.
