Tragic Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 people have died after a enormous fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their dear ones still missing.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources reported.
Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury briefed journalists.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the South Asian economy.
