Tragic Apparel Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still not found.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was put out after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces toxic fumes when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the security issues affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.
