Deadly Garment Factory Inferno in the South Asian nation Has Taken a Minimum of 16 Victims

At least 16 persons have perished after a huge fire broke out at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, with officials cautioning that the fatality count could climb.

16 bodies have been found but were charred beyond recognition, the firefighters stated.

Grief-stricken relatives assembled outside the four-storey factory in Mirpur, Dhaka on that day in seeking their family members still missing.

The fire, which erupted at the factory around lunchtime, was brought under control after several hours. But an nearby chemical warehouse kept burning, authorities confirmed.

Until 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the fire at the chemical warehouse had not been entirely put out, media reports said.

Fire department authorities have not ascertained which of the two buildings was the origin point.

Per bystanders, the chemical warehouse housed chemical bleaching agents, synthetic polymers and industrial peroxide, all of which can worsen fires. Synthetic materials also emits hazardous smoke when burned.

Security personnel are still searching for the proprietors of the factory and the warehouse, emergency services head Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters.

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

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

Included in the crowd is a man searching desperately for his daughter, his family member.

"When I heard about the fire, I rushed here. But I still cannot locate her... I just want my loved one back," he told journalists.

The catastrophic occurrence has another time underscored the hazardous conditions facing Bangladesh's garment industry, which provides jobs for millions of workers and is a crucial provider of foreign revenue for the South Asian economy.