Deadly Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims at Least 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a massive fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still missing.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, authorities reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits poisonous gases when burned.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he expressed to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
