At least 49 people, including nine firefighters, were killed and over 200 injured in a fire and massive explosion at a privately-run inland container depot at Sitakunda on the outskirts of the country’s port city Chattogram on Saturday night.
The rescue officials said that the victims in the fire and explosion at BM Container Depot included workers, police personnel and firefighters, with hospitals in Chattogram struggling to provide treatment.
Chattogram district civil surgeon Md Elias Chowdhury said that the death toll reached 49 until 5:45pm on Sunday while Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md Ashraf Uddin said that over 200 injured people were undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Chattogram and Dhaka.
Of the injured, 164 people were now under treatment in Chattogram Medical College Hospital and 35 others were now undergoing treatment in Park View Hospital until Sunday evening.
Seven critically injured people were flown to Dhaka by the army helicopter while a total of 14 patients were admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital as of 10:00pm Sunday.
BM Container Depot director and Chattogram-based Smart group’s managing director Muzibur Rahman told that they were yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.
‘We suspect that the fire may originate from a container,’ he said.
Muzibur is the treasurer of Chattogram south district Awami League and editor of Chattogram-based daily Purbodesh.
‘We are arranging treatment for the injured and we will bear the full cost of treatment of the victims. Those, who have suffered casualties in the accident, will be given maximum compensation. Besides, the families of all the victims will be taken care of,’ he said.
BM Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladeshi joint venture, has been in operation since May 2011. It is one of the 19 such ICDs in Chattogram.
The chairman of the joint venture is Dutch national Bert Pronk, who has other investments too in Bangladesh, while the managing director is Mustafizur Rahman of the Smart Group of Industries.
President Md Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina in separate messages on Sunday expressed profound shock and sorrow at the loss of lives and injuries in the depot fire.
Fire Service and Civil Defence officials said that 12 fighters went missing after the explosion while the bodies of nine firefighters were recovered later. The emergency responding agency could identify eight of the killed firefighters till filling of this report.
Besides, 15 other firefighters were undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital in Chattogram, two in critical conditions, the officials said.
Mohammad Alauddin Talukder, an assistant sub-inspector at Chattogram Medical College Hospital police outpost, said that all the bodies were kept at the CMCH morgue.
Chattogram’s civil surgeon Elias said that many of the injured had their hand or leg severed.
One of the victims, Muminul Hoque, 24, son of Faridul Alam of Chanua under Banshkhai upazila in Chattogram, was a computer operator of the BM Container Depot while another victim was Md Mohiuddin, 22, son of Mahmudur Rahman, of Napora of Banshkhali.
Of the victims, some others were identified as Habibur Rahman, 23, Rabiul Alam, 19, Md Mohiuddin, 22, Tofayel Islam, 22, Afzal Hossain, 30, Md Sumon, 28, Md Ibrahim, 27, Faruk Jamaddar, 55, Harunur Rashid, 55, Md Nayan, 22, and firefighters Md Alauddin, 35, Md Moniruzzaman, 50, Shakil Tarafdar, 26, and Rana Mia, 27, according to ASI Alauddin.
Ascertaining identities of other victims was under process, officials said.
Injured cops, who are now undergoing treatment at CMCH, are Shahidul, 50, Shohag, 24, Imrul, 28, Aung San Suchi, 24, Shohag, 22, of Industrial Police and Md Belal, Md Mizan, 22, Md Tuhin, Md Motahar of Sitakunda police station, CMCH police outpost ASI Alauddin said.
CMCH officials said that many of the injured undergoing treatment at the hospital were in critical condition.
They said that they had to send a number of patients, who needed support in the intensive care unit, to other hospitals after filling up all the ICU beds in CMCH.
The fire broke out at about 9:30pm in some containers of the depot, officials said.
Chattogram fire service and civil defence control room officials said that 25 firefighting units rushed to the spot and were working to douse the fire.
As the fire could not be brought under control until Sunday morning, Bangladesh Army personnel, responding to the call of civil administration, joined their hands to control the fire, said the Chattogram divisional commissioner.
Md Aktaruzzaman, assistant director of fire service and civil defence, told New Age that they suspected that the fire became devastating due to chemicals kept stored in the container depot.
He said that they could bring the fire under control on Sunday evening.
Witnesses said that the fire spread to the adjacent containers within a few minutes prompting local people to join the firefighters and the police in an attempt to douse the fire.
At about 10:15pm on Saturday, a container exploded with a big bang leaving scores of people, including the police personnel and firefighters injured, said Mohammad Shoaib, who witnessed the fire and the explosion.
‘Around 10:30pm we got the sound of a huge explosion. Glass windows of many buildings, mosques in our area broke down. Everything was trembling so much that we felt like there was an earthquake,’ said Mohammad Salahuddin, who lives in Maiddham Sonaichari village near BM Container Depot.
Mizanur Rahman, a resident in Kadamrasul area of Sitakunda, told that they feared for life after the explosion as their house was just 500 metres away from the spot.
Officials said that the explosion was heard within a radius of about four kilometres from the spot. A series of small explosions could be heard later and, since then, the fire went out of control.
The area became heavy due to the cry of the victims and the police, firefighters and the vehicles that had been passing by the area began to rush the victims to different private and public hospitals in Sitakundu and Chattogram city.
Talking to reporters at about 12:45am on Sunday, Chattogram district civil surgeon Elias urged the doctors and nurses in the city to rush to CMCH for providing treatment and care to the injured as the hospital’s burn unit, orthopaedic unit and emergency department had been filled up with the injured victims.
He urged the volunteers to rush to the hospital to provide blood to the patients and also urged the government ambulances and private ambulance service providers to rush to the spot to bring the injured victims to hospitals.
The doctors and nurses had to give treatment to the patients at makeshift beds on different floors of CMCH.
Responding to the call of the civil surgeon, a good number of doctors, nurses and volunteers rushed to CMCH.
Red Crescent Society, Gauchhia Committee Bangladesh, Sandhani and CMCH students rushed to the hospital to work as volunteers and provide blood.
Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Md Ashraf Uddin, Chittagong Port Authority chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan and general commanding officer of 24 infantry division Major General Saiful Abedin were among the high officials to visit the spot.
Chattogram deputy commissioner Mohammad Mominur Rahman told that they formed a seven-member probe committee, headed by the deputy director (local government) of Chattogram to investigate into the incident.
Chattogram port secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk told that they formed a three-member committee headed by Chattogram port’s terminal manager to investigate the incident. The committee was asked to submit the report within three working days.
Fire service officials and explosive department officials blamed the BM Container Depot authorities for the incident.
Fire Service assistant director Md Aktaruzzaman told that they found no officials of the BM Container Depot on the spot till Sunday afternoon.
‘We had no specific information about the containers. There was no one to guide us,’ he said.
Md Tafazzal Hossain, an explosive inspector of Chattogram, told that they were not informed about the consignment.
‘There were a lot of chemicals, hydrogen peroxide,’ in the containers. Why did the company stock it for a couple of days? It was completely unethical to stock the chemical without taking precautionary measures,’ he said.
Officials said that there were at least 33 containers of hydrogen peroxide chemical at the depot. The chemical was brought to the depot for exporting to different countries.
The 33 containers of hydrogen peroxide chemical were owned by Al Razi Chemical Complex Limited, a sister concern of Smart Group of Industries, which is also the owner of BM Container Depot, said an official.
Chattogram custom’s assistant commissioner Uzzal Chakma and the customs in charge of BM Container Depot confirmed New Age that the 33 containers of hydrogen peroxide chemical were owned by the Al Razi Chemical Complex Limited.
‘The chemicals were brought to the depot on June 1 and June 2 but Al Razi Chemical Complex Limited submitted no documents to the customs authorities till Sunday evening,’ he said.
The Department of Factory and Establishment Inspection formed a three-member committee over the fire incident and asked for a report within three days.
SM Enamul Haque, director of the divisional labour department in Chattogram, has formed another three-member committee to look into the overall situation of the workers.
An official release of the disaster management and relief ministry said that Tk one crore in cash and 1,000 packets of dry and other food items had been allotted as humanitarian assistance for the victims of the Sitakunda fire.
