Deadly Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have perished after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was put out after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, 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 caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
