Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
At least 16 persons have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still missing.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he noted.
Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The devastating event has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
