Tragic Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 persons have died after a enormous fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official told journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to reporters.
The tragic incident has once again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
