Devastating Apparel Factory Fire in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
No fewer than 16 people have perished after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the number of victims could climb.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire department said.
Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services said.
Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury informed the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs millions of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
