Staff Reporter :
Two separate fire incidents occurred in a train and a ferry in Maulvibazar and Munshiganj respectively on Saturday.
But, no casualties were reported so far from the two fire incidents, sources said.
The causes of the fires could not be known immediately, but probe bodies have been formed to investigate the causes of the fire and the irregularities, if any.
Within a week, the country is witnessing a number of fire accidents including the recent fire accident in BM Container Depot in Sitakunda.
Different quarters including the political parties are raising questions about the causes of the fire incidents and the laxity of the enforcement of laws despite various irregularities found in these fire accidents.
Meanwhile, in the fire incident in Maulvibazar, three compartments of Intercity Parabat Express train were gutted when fire was caught at the train bound for Sylhet from Dhaka.
The fire incident that occurred at 1pm on Saturday forced to suspend the rail communication with Sylhet for three hours.
Sources said that Parabat Expresss left Dhaka for Sylhet on Saturday morning and when it reached near the Shamshernagar Airport under Komolganj Upazila of the district at around 1 pm, fire erupted in the power car of the train.
Immediately, the fire spread to a number of compartments and oil tanker. The locomotive driver immediately stopped the train.
The locals rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire before the arrival of fire services.
Getting news of the fire, four units of the fire services from Komalganj, Srimangal and Kulaura and put out the fire after one and half hours of frantic efforts.
Meanwhile, a seven-member probe body headed by Maulvibazar District Magistrate Abdul Haque was formed to find out the causes of the fire. The committee will submit its report within seven working days.
Assistant Station Master of Srimangal Railway Station Mohammad Rafique said, “The Parabat Express train has left for Sylhet and the gutted compartments have been sent to Kulaura.”
Meanwhile, a ferry which was carrying people and vehicles from Shimulia ghat caught fire in Louhajang Upazila of Munshiganj district on Saturday.
However, no casualties were reported from the fire incident in the ferry, Shafiqul Islam, Assistant General Manager of Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) said.
Sources said that the ferry fire incident was reported at around 5:15am from Majhikandi channel of Padma River.
The passengers noticed smoke coming out from a locked room of the ferry Begum Rokeya. The passengers were panic-stricken and running to and fro.
The fire, however, was immediately doused with the help of pumps and fire extinguishers, sources said.
The room was gutted but the passengers were unhurt, sources said.
The ferry plies on the Shimulia-Majhikandi route and on Saturday it was carrying some 40 vehicles on it at the time of the incident.
BIWTA sources said, “The situation is under control. Primarily it is assumed that the fire might erupt due to the short circuit.”
In December last year, a dreadful fire incident erupted in a launch MV Abhijan-10, which killed at least 40 people and over one hundred were injured. The launch was carrying some 500 passengers on board.
The probe bodies found irregularities and negligence in the launch fire accident.
