Deadly Clothing Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 people have lost their lives after a massive fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
As late as 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 department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces toxic fumes when ignited.
Security personnel are still attempting to find the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he told news media.
The devastating event has another time emphasized the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of foreign revenue for the nation.
