Deadly Apparel Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Fatalities
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a enormous fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with authorities stating that the fatality count could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been recovered but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters said.
Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their family members still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which broke out at the factory around noon, was extinguished after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, officials said.
Up until 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 determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Polymer products also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed reporters.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he noted.
Crying family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has once again underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for numerous of workers and is a major contributor to foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.
