Dhaka(Bangladesh): Dhaka(Bangladesh): A massive fire and a series of subsequent explosions at a private chemical container depot in southeastern Bangladesh killed at least 49 people, including nine firefighters, and injured more than 450 others, officials said on Sunday, as firefighters were still struggling to put out the blaze.
According to doctors, the toll could rise further as many of the injured people were being treated with severe burns. The firefighters backed by army troops were yet to enter deep down the blast site to douse the fire nearly 23 hours after the fire broke out on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chattogram Divisional Commissioner (DC) Ashraf Uddin further said that families of the deceased are being given USD 560 (Taka 50,000) by the DC office. Meanwhile, USD 224 (Taka 20,000) is being given to the families of the injured, the Daily Star reported. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mourned the death of people and ordered the mobilisation of all facilities for the salvage campaign. Officials formed a high-powered investigation committee demanding it to submit a report in the next three days.
A Fire broke out at the container depot around 9 pm on Saturday, Sub-Inspector Nurul Alam stationed at CMCH said. As Fire Service units worked to put it out, there was an explosion and then the fire spread. Nurul added that initially it was being suspected that the container depot caught fire due to chemicals, the report added.
Around 11:45 pm, there was a massive explosion and the fire spread from one container to another due to the presence of chemicals in one of the containers. The depot was largely empty, the firefighters, policemen and other rescuers rushed to the scene after the fire initially broke out and the explosion of containers after containers filled with chemicals killed them, a witness told PTI over the phone.
The explosion shook the neighbourhood and shattered glasses of windows of nearby houses, the report added. Media reports, including TV footage, showed the blast shattered the windows of several buildings nearby and was felt from areas as far as 4 km away, creating panic. Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Md Faruk Hossain Sikdar said: "Around 19 firefighting units are working to douse the blaze and six ambulances are also available on the spot."
Several types of chemicals like hydrogen peroxide were stored in containers at the depot and the chemicals have visibly sparked the fire, fire service chief Brigadier General Mohammad Mainuddin told newsmen at the scene in the Sitakunda area on the outskirts of the port city. The state-run Chattagram Medical College Hospital accommodated most of the fire wounded patients while several others including scores of firefighters were being treated at a military hospital and some private facilities.
In a statement, Mujibur Rahman, director of the BM Container Depot, said it was not clear what caused the fire. "But I think the fire started from the container". "Arrangements are being made to ensure that the injured get the best treatment. We will bear the entire cost of the treatment. Those who were injured in the accident will be given the maximum compensation," Rahman was quoted as saying by The Daily Star. "In addition, we will take responsibility for all the families of all the victims," he added.
BM Container Depot is set up as an inland container depot which has been operating since May 2011. The private container depot was built on 21 acres of land in the Sitakunda area of Chattagram adjacent to the Bay of Bengal coastlines. Bangladesh has a history of industrial disasters. Past industrial tragedies have often been attributed to safety lapses.
Last year, a fire engulfed a food and drink factory in Bangladesh, killing at least 52 people. In February 2019, a blaze ripped through a 400-year-old area cramped with apartments, shops and warehouses in the oldest part of Dhaka and killed at least 67 people. In 2012, about 117 workers died when they were trapped behind locked exits in a garment factory in Dhaka. The country's worst industrial disaster occurred the following year, when the Rana Plaza garment factory outside Dhaka collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. Another fire in Old Dhaka in a house illegally storing chemicals killed at least 123 people in 2010. (PTI)
