A fire at a chemical warehouse and factory in Shialbari, Mirpur, in the capital leaves at least 16 people dead on Tuesday. The Fire Service says the death toll may rise. Inset, Relatives of the victims search for their loved ones with heavy heart. — FE Photo A fierce fire in a Dhaka apparel factory and its chemical warehouse Tuesday left at least 16 people dead, firemen said, and the toll could rise as the blaze raged for hours.
The fire in the readymade garment factory in the city's Shialbari Mirpur area broke out at around 11.30am following a blast in the chemical warehouse and spread heavy toxic smoke, panicking the workers and residents in the neighbourhoods, according to witnesses and fire-service officials.
On information, 12 units of Fire Service and Civil Defence or FSCD drove in from different fire stations and took part in the rescue mission.
The bodies, whose identification was not immediately possible, were taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after recovery, a fire-service official told reporters on the spot in the evening.
"We have recovered 16 dead bodies so far from the garment site. However, faces of many of them are beyond recognition," FSCD Director for Operations and Maintenance Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said.
Identification and details of the garment factory were not immediately known, while locals identified the chemicals warehouse as 'Alam Traders', he said, adding that top floor of the garment building was made of tin-and bamboo-made fence.
"Gate of the roof was confined with two locks, limiting the workers' movement to an upward open space," he said, adding that lower part of the building was engulfed under heavy poisonous smoke.
"We assume that they died of inhaling toxic smoke on the first and second floors of the building," he said in a horrific tale of the inferno.
The fire in the garment building was brought under control at around 7.00pm, but not the blaze in the warehouse. Efforts were underway to control the fire in the chemical warehouse till the filing of the report at 8.30pm.
Considering the toxic atmosphere there, the fire control was being accomplished using different technologies, including drone and ground monitor. Different types of chemicals, including bleaching powder, meta, potash, salt, hydrogen peroxide and enzyme, were stored there, said the FSCD official, making a primary assumption. Name of the apparel unit was not known.
"Neither the garment nor the chemical warehouse got licence to operate such business," he said, adding that they also lacked fire safety One volunteer was injured in the fire combat.
Earlier in another briefing, he said the origin of the fire was not yet known. Those who came to put out the fire initially saw fire in both the chemical warehouse and the garment area.
Officials of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) claimed the chemical warehouse in Mirpur was illegal.
"The warehouse was illegal as it did not have a trade licence," Atiqur Rahman, deputy inspector-general (DIG) of DIFE's Dhaka region, told The Financial Express (FE) while replying to a query.
Under the existing law, any factory or establishment storing chemicals must obtain prior approval from the DIFE.
He also said the DIFE under the Ministry of Labour and Employment already formed a five-member committee to assess the building-safety issues as well as work environments.
"The committee will start its function Wednesday," Mr. Rahman added.
Meanwhile, the air over the scene was thick with wails as relatives of the victims and missing persons thronged the spot to know whereabouts of their near and dear ones.
A firsthand spot account by a FE correspondent found the relatives' victims desperately trying to know whereabouts of their near and dear ones.
A good number of security personnel were deployed in the neighbourhood.
Jakia came to the spot in the evening in search of her younger sister Asma, 14, who went missing after the incident of fire at the garment factory. Hailed from Mohanganj upazila of Netrakona district, she joined there as a helper only three months ago.
"We have visited Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Suhrawardy Hospital and Swapna Medical Hospital (located nearby the spot), but couldn't get her trace," she says-all in wails.
Noor Jahan, another relative of a missing worker, Abdul Alim, told the FE that she couldn't get the trace of her brother.
She said that her brother hailing from Singra upazila of Natore district joined the garment factory as a worker.
"Please help us to find out my brother," she says as tears roll down from her eyes.
Meanwhile, expressing deep sorrow over the incident, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) claimed that the industrial unit was not a garment factory rather a washing plant.
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