Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 persons have died after a huge fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Crying family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to news media.
The tragic incident has yet again highlighted the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a major provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
