Tragic Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims
No fewer than 16 persons have died after a huge fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the fire service said.
Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.
The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse continued to burn, 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 said.
Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings was the origin point.
Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.
Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director briefed the media.
An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also in progress, he noted.
Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.
Included in the crowd is a man seeking urgently for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.
"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he told news media.
The catastrophic occurrence has another time emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which employs millions of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.