Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Claims a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
At least 16 individuals have perished after a massive fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the fire department stated.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their family members still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official told journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the nation.
