Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
At least 16 persons have died after a massive fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials warning that the number of victims could climb.
16 bodies have been found but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their family members still not found.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities confirmed.
As late as 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 established which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when burned.
Security personnel are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Present at the scene is a man looking frantically 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 loved one back," he told reporters.
The devastating event has once again emphasized the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a significant contributor to economic income for the South Asian economy.
