Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department stated.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities reported.
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 reported.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official briefed journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Tearful family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the country.
