Tragic Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have perished after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Crying family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently 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 told news media.
The devastating event has once again highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
