At least 16 bodies have been recovered following a devastating fire at a garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in the Shialbari area of Mirpur in the capital, according to the Fire Service. Fire Service media officer Talha Bin Jasim said the alarm was raised at 11:40 am, and five Fire Service units reached the scene at 11:56 am to begin firefighting operations. Later, seven more units joined, bringing the total to 12 units working at the site. He added that the fire broke out at a chemical warehouse belonging to Cosmic Pharma and a nearby garments building. While the fire in the garment factory has been brought under control, efforts to fully extinguish the blaze at the chemical warehouse are still ongoing. Two individuals—Suruj (30) and Mamun (35)—fell ill after inhaling smoke from the fire and were rescued and admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. The institute’s resident surgeon, Dr Shaon Bin Rahman, said Suruj has sustained burns to around two per cent of his body, and both patients have suffered smoke-related injuries to their airways. They are currently being kept under observation in the emergency department. According to the Fire Service, the garment factory is a seven-storey building, and the chemical warehouse stored flammable materials such as bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide—factors believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.