Bangladesh
Sitakunda Fire Chittagong container depot fire still not under control after 24 hours
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, June 6: The smell of corpses is wafting in the air, the sky of Sitakunda in Chittagong is getting heavy even at night due to the laments of the victims' relatives. Even though 24 hours have already passed, the terrible fire that started last night has not been brought under control yet.
The BM container depot at Sitakunda in Chittagong is still burning. Firefighting operation has been stopped due to a fire in a container. Because there is a danger that the container may explode at any time after coming in contact with the chemical.
Concerned parties say it is the biggest fire in the history of the country. The speed of the fire and the number of casualties is also huge. Besides, those who went ahead to put out the fire have succumbed to the explosion. The bodies of four of those firefighters, who have gone untraceable since the explosion took place, have not yet been found.
On Sunday (June 5) at around 10 pm, it was seen on the spot that several vehicles of the fire service and firefighters were ready but the firefighting operation was halted. According to the fire service, several containers are still on fire. There are chemicals in the containers just below the burning container.
Firefighter Abul Saleh told Jago News, "Now our team is ready to control the fire, but the firefighting effort is halted due to a fire in a container. All kinds of preparations have been made to prevent the fire from spreading. Fire control work will resume as soon as the chemical container is fully burnt."
Another firefighter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 12 members of fire service have been killed while trying to control a fire in a chemical container, and 15 others were injured. There is still a chemical container burning that could cause another casualty if it explodes.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the horrific explosion and fire at the container depot has risen to 49, said Dr. Elias Chowdhury, a civil surgeon in Chittagong. However, Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mominur Rahman said 45 people had been killed and 163 injured in the accident so far.
A massive fire broke out at BM Container Depot in Sonaichhari area of Sitakunda on Saturday (June 4) at around 9 pm. A container containing chemicals exploded with a loud noise while the firefighting operation was underway. More than 400 people, including depot workers, local residents as well as members of the police and fire service, were injured in the incident.
