Staff Reporter :
At least 49 people, including nine firefighters, were killed and over 400 hundred injured in the devastating fire that caught at the BM Container Depot at Sitakunda where chemical substances along with other combustible products were stored before delivery.
The fire is caught in the facility at around 11 on Saturday night where around 600 workers work and it spread rapidly because hundreds of drums of hydrogen peroxide chemicals were stored there, sources said.
But the death toll may go up as long as the fire is completely doused and the rescue operation is completed by the fire fighters, army personnel and other rescuers.
Soon after getting the information, fire fighters rushed to the spot but they did not have any prior information about the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
As a result, the initial unit of the fire fighters became the victims of the explosion caused by the chemicals when they were trying to control the blaze by water.
The boom of the explosion caused by chemicals was so huge that windows of several nearby buildings and other structures were shattered and the tremor was felt as far as four kilometers afar.
Sensing the magnitude of the devastation and the lone frantic efforts of firefighters, army personnel were deployed to aid them to douse the blaze on Sunday.
The 24-Infantry Division (Chattogram) GOC Major General Saiful Abedin told the media at 5:00 pm on Sunday that they expected to control the fire by 10:00 pm.
He said that around 250 army personnel had joined the operation and the general people were put aside to make the rescue operation easy.
He also said that the army had plugged the drains and lakes to stop the spread of chemical into the Bay of Bengal. “There was no chance of mixing chemical into the water of Bay of Bengal,” he added.
In reply to a query about the explosion, Shamsul Hayder Siddique, General Manager of Denim, on behalf of the BM Container Depot said, “Nothing can be said right now. Investigation is on about the explosion. We want fair investigation.” The authorities of BM Container announced to provide Tk 10 lakh to each family of the workers who died in the blaze. In addition, the critically injured victims who lost their limps will get Tk 6 lakh while the other wounded will get Tk 4 lakh each, said a Depo authority statement.
The injured and burnt people were immediately taken to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), private hospitals and clinics where the bemoaning and bereaved relatives and family members thronged to support them.
The whole spot and the treatment facilities turned into a nightmare as the screaming of the burnt injured and the wailing of the relatives.
Even the relatives were seen standing with photographs at the depot site and the hospitals to get information about their family members alive or death.
The CMCH Police Outpost Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Alauddin Talukdar said that bodies have been kept at the morgue.
Sources said that the bodies will be handed over to the respective family members and relatives after the DNA tests. Many of the bodies were charred and some were disfigured as they sustained fire injury.
The seriously injured were shifted to Dhaka by army helicopters and ambulances for better treatment.
Meanwhile, a medical team led by eminent burn specialist Dr Samanta Lal on Sunday night left Dhaka for Chattogram to see and provide the medical support to the injured victims.
On the other hand, three separate probe committees have been formed to ferret out the causes of the fire and the loss of lives and properties caused by the inferno.
The Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defence has formed a seven-member probe body which will submit its report within five working days.
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments formed a three-member committee to submit report within three working days.
The Chittagong district administration formed a nine-member committee headed by the Local Government Division Deputy Director Badiul Alam. The panel has been directed to submit its findings within seven working days.
Meanwhile, the President, the Prime Minister and leaders of different political parties, FBCCI and BGMEA have expressed their condolences to the bereaved family members.
The government allocated one crore taka for the victims of the explosion. It announced to give Tk 50,000 in compensation to the families of each person killed in the incident.
In addition to it, Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Md Ashraf Uddin told the media that each injured would receive Tk 20,000.
Fire fighters sources said the 26-acre compound Depot has only a single fire exit apart from the main entrance. The pocket gate which is called the emergency exit was used as the connecting gate for workers to go into their quarters.
Rescuers said that many workers could have got out of the depot to safe place if there were more exit ways to leave the compound.
Along with the rising death toll, the loss of properties at the BM Depot has primarily been estimated that there were around 1,300 containers full of import and export items. Most of these goods have been gutted.
Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association and Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association sources said that it is primarily estimated that around 100 million dollars of products have been lost by the fire. Soon after the fire eruption, 25 firefighting units from 15 stations, including Feni, Laxmipur and Cumilla rushed to the spot to douse the blaze.
“We find hydrogen peroxide at the depot. That’s why it took much time to douse the blaze, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General (DG) Brig Gen Md Main Uddin told the media.
“We did not have any prior knowledge what type of combustible materials were kept in the containers. That’s why we needed the depot owner or anyone else from their side as different chemicals behave and react differently,” he said.
