Deadly Apparel Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Claims a Minimum of 16 Lives
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a enormous fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the number of victims could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were charred unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still not found.
The inferno, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources said.
Emergency responders have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Polymer products also produces poisonous gases when burned.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still attempting to find the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official told reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically 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 loved one back," he told journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the nation.
