Devastating Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the number of victims could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department stated.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources indicated.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages millions of workers and is a significant contributor to export earnings for the nation.
