Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Claims a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the fire service reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around noon, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports indicated.
Fire service officials have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again emphasized the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which engages numerous of workers and is a major provider of export earnings for the country.
