Deadly Apparel Factory Fire in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 individuals have lost their lives after a huge fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still missing.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces poisonous gases when burned.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he noted.
Crying family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again highlighted the security issues affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a major source of export earnings for the nation.
