Devastating Apparel Factory Fire in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were charred beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their family members still unaccounted for.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was brought under control after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
