Devastating Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Victims
A minimum of 16 people have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned unrecognizable, the fire service said.
Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The fire, which broke out at the factory around midday, was extinguished after three hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse continued to burn, emergency services confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports reported.
Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings caught fire first.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, plastic and chemical peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also releases poisonous gases when combusted.
Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the fire service official told the media.
An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he mentioned.
Crying family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"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 loved one back," he expressed to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has yet again highlighted the hazardous conditions plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a major source of economic income for the country.
