Devastating Clothing Factory Fire in Bangladesh Takes no Fewer than 16 Victims

No fewer than 16 people have lost their lives after a enormous fire erupted at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with emergency services cautioning that the death toll could climb.

16 bodies have been found but were incinerated beyond recognition, the fire service stated.

Distraught relatives assembled outside the four-level factory in Dhaka's Mirpur area on Tuesday in seeking their loved ones still not found.

The fire, which erupted at the factory around noon, was extinguished after multiple hours. But an neighboring chemical warehouse remained ablaze, emergency services confirmed.

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

Fire service officials have not established which of the two buildings ignited initially.

Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse stored chemical bleaching agents, plastic and industrial peroxide, all of which can intensify fires. Synthetic materials also emits toxic fumes 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 briefed the media.

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

Weeping family members waited outside the charred buildings, many of them clutching photographs of their unaccounted for relatives.

Present at the scene is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his loved one.

"When I was informed of the fire, I came running. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he expressed to journalists.

The tragic incident has once again highlighted the safety concerns facing Bangladesh's clothing sector, which employs countless of workers and is a significant provider of economic income for the nation.