Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Victims
At least 16 people have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the number of victims could increase.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the multi-story 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 extinguished after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also emits toxic fumes when combusted.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently 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 child back," he stated to reporters.
The devastating event has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
