Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation 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 authorities warning that the fatality count could rise.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the fire service reported.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he noted.
Tearful family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The devastating event has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
