Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the fire department stated.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
