Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have lost their lives after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Crying family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a significant contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.
