Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases toxic fumes when burned.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.
Tearful family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a major contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
