Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still missing.
The blaze, which started at the factory around noon, was brought under control after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the South Asian economy.
