Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a massive fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the death toll could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the firefighters said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which started at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also produces poisonous gases when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to reporters.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the nation.