Tragic Apparel Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a massive fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire department said.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official briefed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the country.
