Tragic Apparel Factory Blaze in Bangladesh Takes a Minimum of 16 Victims

No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a huge fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the number of victims could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were burned impossible to identify, the fire department said.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their dear ones still missing.

The fire, which broke out at the factory around noon, was brought under control after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services said.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, media reports indicated.

Emergency responders have not determined which of the two buildings caught fire first.

Per witnesses, the chemical warehouse contained chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.

Security personnel are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told journalists.

An investigation on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also in progress, he mentioned.

Tearful family members gathered outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Present at the scene is a man looking frantically for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to reporters.

The devastating event has yet again emphasized the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.