Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 people have lost their lives after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the death toll could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred unrecognizable, the fire department reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their loved ones still missing.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the country.
