BANGLADESH

10 killed and at least 400 injured in Chattogram container depot fire

At least 10 people died and about 400 were injured after a massive fire tore through at a private Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram .

The fire broke out at an inland container storage facility just 25 miles (40km) outside of the country’s main seaport of Chittagong shortly before midnight, fire service official Jalal Ahmed said.

Multiple firefighting units rushed to the depot to douse the fire when a massive explosion rocked the site, injuring scores of people, including firefighters.

Chittagong’s chief doctor Elias Chowdhury told AFP that at least five people were killed and about 100 were injured.

Around 11:45pm, 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.

Emergency crews were still working to put out the fire Sunday morning, and local hospitals, including military clinics, were treating the injured.

10 killed and at least 400 injured in  Chattogram container depot fire

Ruhul Amin Sikder, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Inland Container Association (BICA), said some of the containers at the 30-acre private depot contained chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide.

Mujibur Rahman, the director of the facility, called BM Container Depot, said the reason behind the fire was still unknown. He added the facility employs about 600 people.

In 2020, three workers were killed after an oil tank exploded in another container depot in the neighbouring Patenga area.

There are 19 private inland container depots in the South Asian nation handling the country’s exports and a large chunk of import goods.

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