Deadly Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Has Taken no Fewer than 16 Lives

A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a enormous fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the number of victims could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been retrieved but were incinerated impossible to identify, the firefighters stated.

Distraught relatives gathered outside the multi-story factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on that day in looking for their loved ones still missing.

The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was brought under control after three hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities confirmed.

As late as 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, news sources reported.

Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings was the origin point.

According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse housed industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also releases hazardous smoke when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief the department director told reporters.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also ongoing, he added.

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

Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, Farzana Akhter.

"When I was informed of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to reporters.

The catastrophic occurrence has yet again underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which provides jobs for countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the country.