Tragic Garment Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes a Minimum of 16 Fatalities
At least 16 people have perished after a massive fire started at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the fatality count could climb.
16 bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department reported.
Heartbroken relatives converged outside the four-level factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still not found.
The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after three hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.
As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, news sources said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.
According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.
Police and military officers are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed journalists.
An probe on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he added.
Weeping family members waited outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their missing relatives.
Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs numerous of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the nation.
