Devastating Apparel Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 people have died after a enormous fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could rise.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he mentioned.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.