Deadly Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have lost their lives after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could increase.
A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts said.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also emits poisonous gases when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director informed journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.
The tragic incident has yet again underscored the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.
