Deadly Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 persons have lost their lives after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to journalists.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a major contributor to export earnings for the nation.
