Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated beyond recognition, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the nation.
