Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when burned.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official told the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Tearful family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a significant contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
