Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a massive fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the fatality count could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts reported.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces toxic fumes when burned.
Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.
Crying family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he told reporters.
The tragic incident has another time underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs numerous of workers and is a major provider of export earnings for the nation.