Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts reported.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also emits poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he noted.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
