Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Claims no Fewer than 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 individuals have lost their lives after a massive fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could rise.
A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were burned unrecognizable, the firefighters stated.
Heartbroken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still not found.
The blaze, which broke out at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials confirmed.
Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, 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 was the origin point.
According to witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic materials and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when ignited.
Police and military officers are still searching for the owners of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the department director briefed reporters.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he mentioned.
Weeping family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.
"When I was informed of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he told reporters.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to foreign revenue for the nation.