Devastating Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh Claims no Fewer than 16 Lives

No fewer than 16 people have died after a massive fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could increase.

A total of sixteen bodies have been recovered but were incinerated unrecognizable, the fire department said.

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the four-storey factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in seeking their loved ones still missing.

The blaze, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an nearby 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 entirely put out, media reports said.

Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.

According to bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when burned.

Security personnel are still trying to locate the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told the media.

An probe on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he mentioned.

Weeping family members gathered outside the burned buildings, many of them holding photographs of their missing relatives.

Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my child back," he stated to journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has yet again emphasized the safety concerns affecting Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial source of economic income for the South Asian economy.