Devastating Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the death toll could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources reported.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when burned.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The tragic incident has once again underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the country.
