Devastating Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Claims a Minimum of 16 Victims
At least 16 individuals have died after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could rise.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in seeking their family members still not found.
The fire, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports said.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again highlighted the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the country.
