Deadly Apparel Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 persons have lost their lives after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the death toll could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.
Crying 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 learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the country.
