Smoke Still Rising from Dhaka Chemical Warehouse A Day After Deadly Fire

A day after a horrific fire killed at least 16 people, plumes of smoke were reported to be still rising from a burned chemical warehouse in the capital of Bangladesh on Wednesday.

The Daily Star newspaper noted that although the fire was under control, it was not yet completely extinguished.

A four-story clothing factory and a chemical warehouse in the Rupnagar neighbourhood of Dhaka caught fire on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people and injuring a number more.

According to the newspaper, smoke was still visible coming from the destroyed building, and several employees at a nearby clothing business became ill when they reported for work this morning due to the poisonous vapours coming from the burned chemical godown facility.

Rescuers are finding it difficult to operate inside because of the intense smoke and toxins present, according to officials.

Numerous employees from surrounding factories were observed outside their workplaces, complaining of feeling unwell from the fumes.

According to the publication, a 25-year-old female employee of K-Tex Industries, located in the same vicinity, claimed that her plant was closed after only two hours of operation.

"We came to the factory around 8:00 am and worked until about 10:00 am. After that, the authorities shut the factory for today after receiving information that workers at the nearby Rising Fashion factory had fallen sick from inhaling toxic fumes," she said.

Bangladesh has seen industrial catastrophes in the past.  Safety breaches have frequently been cited as a contributing factor to previous industrial fatalities.

At least 52 people were killed in 2021 when a fire destroyed a food and beverage plant in Bangladesh.

At least 67 people were murdered in February 2019 after a fire tore through a 400-year-old neighbourhood in the oldest part of Dhaka that was crowded with flats, stores, and warehouses.

In 2012, roughly 117 people died when they were trapped behind sealed exits in a textile factory in Dhaka.

The next year, the Rana Plaza garment factory outside of Dhaka collapsed, killing over 1,100 people, making it Bangladesh's worst industrial tragedy.

In 2010, at least 123 persons were murdered in another fire in Old Dhaka that occurred in a house that was unlawfully storing chemicals.

With PTI inputs.