Deadly Garment Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims
At least 16 people have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned beyond recognition, the firefighters reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their dear ones still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was put out after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a significant source of export earnings for the country.
