Devastating Apparel Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Takes at Least 16 Lives

A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a huge fire started at a garment factory in Bangladesh, with authorities cautioning that the fatality count could climb.

Sixteen bodies have been found but were charred unrecognizable, the fire service reported.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in search of their dear ones still unaccounted for.

The fire, which started at the factory around noon, was put out after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, authorities confirmed.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been fully extinguished, media reports reported.

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

Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Plastic also emits toxic fumes when ignited.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head the fire service official told the media.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also currently underway, he noted.

Weeping family members gathered outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their lost relatives.

Included in the crowd is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I learned of the fire, I rushed here. But I still haven't found her... I just want my child back," he told news media.

The devastating event has another time underscored the hazardous conditions affecting Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of economic income for the South Asian economy.