Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
At least 16 persons have died after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were charred unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still missing.
The blaze, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities said.
As late as 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 ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"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 expressed to news media.
The tragic incident has once again emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a major source of foreign revenue for the nation.
