Tragic Apparel Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken at Least 16 Fatalities

A minimum of 16 individuals have died after a huge fire erupted at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services stating that the fatality count could rise.

16 bodies have been recovered but were incinerated impossible to identify, the fire service stated.

Distraught relatives gathered outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their loved ones still unaccounted for.

The inferno, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, officials said.

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

Emergency responders have not ascertained which of the two buildings caught fire first.

Based on witnesses, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Plastic also emits toxic fumes when ignited.

Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, fire department chief Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was operating legally is also currently underway, he noted.

Crying family members stood outside the fire-damaged buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their lost relatives.

Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.

"When I learned of the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my daughter back," he stated to news media.

The tragic incident has yet again underscored the safety concerns plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages numerous of workers and is a crucial provider of export earnings for the South Asian economy.