Tragic Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 people have died after a massive fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the fire service reported.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Per eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also currently underway, he noted.
Crying family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them holding photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has yet again emphasized the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to export earnings for the South Asian economy.
