At least 16 were killed as a chemical fire, clothing factory in Dhaka

At least 16 people were killed on Tuesday, when a fire broke a chemical and clothing factory in the capital of Bangladesh Dhaka, officials said.

The fire started in the factory warehouse before spreading to a nearby multi -clothing plant, said Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of the Fire Department.

All the bodies were recovered from the clothing plant, Chowdhury told reporters, confirming the tax.

Outside the factory, frustrated relatives were looking for their loved ones. Abdur Rahman, 19, said he was looking for his brother Robin.

Firefighters extinguish flames as tobacco goes up from the combustion plant of chemicals and clothing at Dhaka.photo:AFP

“I found one of his colleagues, who escaped by breaking a window, saw my brother Robin in,” Rahman told AFP. “He didn’t.”

Many others kept photos of the missing loved ones, begging for information.

“The deceased appeared to have suffered serious inhalation injuries from chemicals, as there were particularly flammable materials stacked in,” Chowdhury told reporters.

Authorities have not yet entered the chemical warehouse.

Tahmina Sharmin, a 34 -year -old witness, said she heard a loud explosion before the area was filled with flames and tobacco.

“People were surprised and didn’t know what to do at first,” he told AFP.

He said he was one of the first to respond before the fire crews arrived.

More than 26,500 fires were reported only last year in Bangladesh, where safety standards are loose and often ignored.

In 2021, at least 52 people were killed, including many children when a fire swept a food treatment plant.

Bangladesh’s worst fire took place in 2012, when a fire broke through a clothing factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing at least 111 people and injuring more than 200 others.