Deadly Clothing Factory Fire in the South Asian nation Claims at Least 16 Victims

No fewer than 16 persons have perished after a enormous fire broke out at a apparel factory in Bangladesh, with officials stating that the fatality count could rise.

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

Grief-stricken relatives converged outside the multi-story factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their dear ones still missing.

The fire, which started at the factory around midday, was extinguished after several hours. But an adjacent chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services reported.

Up until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been completely doused, journalistic accounts indicated.

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

Based on bystanders, the chemical warehouse contained industrial bleaches, plastic materials and industrial peroxide, all of which can accelerate fires. Plastic also releases poisonous gases when ignited.

Law enforcement and armed forces are still searching for the operators of the factory and the warehouse, fire service director the department director told the media.

An probe on whether the warehouse was functioning with proper authorization is also in progress, he mentioned.

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

Among them is a man looking frantically for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I heard about the fire, I hurried to the scene. But I still have been unable to find her... I just want my child back," he expressed to reporters.

The catastrophic occurrence has another time highlighted the security issues plaguing Bangladesh's garment industry, which engages countless of workers and is a major provider of export earnings for the country.