Tragic Apparel Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 people have died after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could increase.
Sixteen bodies have been found but were charred impossible to identify, the fire department stated.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their family members still missing.
The blaze, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was extinguished after several hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.
Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also releases toxic fumes when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director informed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he mentioned.
Crying family members stood outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he told journalists.
The tragic incident has another time emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs numerous of workers and is a significant provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.
