Tragic Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Victims

No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could rise.

A total of sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were charred beyond recognition, the fire service stated.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in seeking their dear ones still unaccounted for.

The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services confirmed.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) that day, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts reported.

Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.

Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits hazardous smoke when ignited.

Police and military officers are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director briefed reporters.

An investigation on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also ongoing, he noted.

Crying family members stood outside the charred buildings, many of them holding photographs of their lost relatives.

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

"When I learned of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he told news media.

The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial contributor to economic income for the nation.