Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
At least 16 individuals have lost their lives after a massive fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he added.
Crying family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs numerous of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
