Tragic Apparel Factory Fire in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a massive fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could rise.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.
Crying family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Present at the scene is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has once again underscored the security issues affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a significant source of foreign revenue for the country.