Tragic Clothing Factory Inferno in Bangladesh Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Lives

At least 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services warning that the death toll could climb.

A total of sixteen bodies have been found but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service stated.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on that day in search of their loved ones still unaccounted for.

The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, emergency services reported.

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

Fire department authorities have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.

Based on eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored industrial bleaches, synthetic polymers and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Polymer products also emits hazardous smoke when burned.

Security personnel are still trying to locate the owners of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the fire service official briefed the media.

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

Crying family members waited 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 heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still haven't found her... I just want my daughter back," he expressed to reporters.

The devastating event has once again underscored the security issues facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.