Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Claims at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of 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 several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The tragic incident has once again highlighted the security issues affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages millions of workers and is a significant source of export earnings for the nation.
