Tragic Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Takes at Least 16 Lives
At least 16 people have died after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred beyond recognition, the fire department reported.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their family members still not found.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources indicated.
Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings ignited initially.
Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.
Crying family members gathered outside the burned 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 was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The devastating event has once again underscored the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a major provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
