At Least 16 Dead After Fire Tears Through Garment Factory

A fire that burned for over a day tore through a garment factory and chemical facility in Bangladesh, killing at least 16 people and injuring others, officials said.

The blaze erupted in Dhaka on Tuesday, Oct. 14, impacting both a factory and a chemical warehouse, Reuters, BBC News and The New York Times reported.

“The victims could not escape because the roof door was locked,” fire official Talha Bin Zasim said, according to Reuters. “Most of them died from inhaling toxic gas, rather than burns.”

Fire authorities said the chemical facility lacked a fire safety clearance, BBC News reported.

Fire official Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said that authorities are still trying to track down the owners of the two impacted buildings, according to the outlet. It’s unclear which structure the fire originated in.

Amid the destruction, a man arrived to try to find his daughter, Farzana Akhter, according to Reuters.

“My daughter worked there. When I heard about the fire, I came running. But I still haven’t found her,” he told the outlet. “I just want my daughter back.”

Workers at Dhaka Medical College Hospital are identifying the victims’ bodies after the fire was brought under control on Wednesday, Oct. 15, nearly 27 hours after it broke out, according to Reuters.

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“Some tell us to go to the police, others to the hospitals, but no one gives us clear information,” Mohammad Sohel told Reuters as he searched for his brother, Mohammad Robin, who worked in the area. “We are being misled again and again.”

Bangladesh was also the site of another fatal garment factory incident in April 2013, when the Rana Plaza structure collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people, according to the reports.