Devastating Clothing Factory Blaze in the South Asian nation Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims

A minimum of 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire started at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the number of victims could climb.

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

Grief-stricken relatives gathered outside the four-level factory in the Mirpur district of Dhaka on Tuesday in looking for their dear ones still unaccounted for.

The blaze, which erupted at the factory around midday, was put out after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse kept burning, officials reported.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) yesterday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, journalistic accounts reported.

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

According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, synthetic polymers and chemical peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also produces hazardous smoke when combusted.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still trying to locate the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director informed the media.

An inquiry on whether the warehouse was running according to regulations is also ongoing, he added.

Tearful family members waited outside the burned buildings, many of them grasping photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Among them 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 loved one back," he expressed to reporters.

The tragic incident has another time underscored the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's apparel manufacturing, which engages countless of workers and is a crucial source of export earnings for the South Asian economy.