Tragic Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Victims
At least 16 persons have perished after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still not found.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports reported.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also releases toxic fumes when combusted.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.
Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the nation.
