Tragic Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 persons have died after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the death toll could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces 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 in progress, he noted.
Tearful family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the country.
