Tragic Garment Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives
A minimum of 16 individuals have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated beyond recognition, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in search of their dear ones still missing.
The blaze, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after multiple hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, news sources indicated.
Fire department authorities have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also releases poisonous gases when combusted.
Police and military officers are still attempting to find the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official informed the media.
An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he added.
Weeping family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Among them is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages numerous of workers and is a significant contributor to export earnings for the nation.
