Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
At least 16 people have perished after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could increase.
16 bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.
Fire service officials have not determined 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 worsen fires. Plastic also emits toxic fumes when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The devastating event has once again highlighted the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a significant provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
