Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a huge fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned beyond recognition, the fire service stated.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in looking for their family members still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits toxic fumes when burned.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The tragic incident has once again emphasized the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
