Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 people have died after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their dear ones still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also releases poisonous gases when burned.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director told the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he noted.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the country.
