Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have died after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their family members still not found.
The blaze, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also produces toxic fumes when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told reporters.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Crying family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the nation.
