Deadly Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Claims at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a huge fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the fire service stated.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still not found.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director informed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The devastating event has yet again underscored the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a major source of economic income for the country.
