Devastating Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Lives
At least 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could rise.
16 bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources indicated.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official informed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs countless of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the country.
