Khagdachhari Corrsspondent :
Three resorts, one restaurant and a house were gutted in the fire at Sajek tourist center on Thursday morning in Rangamati. Fortunately, the tourists survived the horrific fire accident. Army and Fire Service personnel tried for about two and a half hours to douse the fire. Electrical short circuit might be the reason of fire, the Fire Service official said. However, Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said that the fire incident would be investigated.
According to local sources, the fire broke out on the second floor of the Leisure Eco Cottage behind Sajek’s Headman residence around 3:30 am on Thursday. After a while, the flame of fire reached the fourth storey of the cottage. At that time at least 50-55 tourists were sleeping there. They, however, managed to get out of their rooms and saved their lives but no valuables could be saved. According to a tourist, all the tourists rushed out of the resort to save their lives. Resorts made of wood and bamboo were burned down within a short time. The tourists became speechless.
Jerry Lusai, General Secretary of the Sajak Resort Owners Association,
claimed that the damage caused by the fire was about Tk two crore. He said the fire first started at around 3.30 a.m on Thursday from a room in a resort called ‘Abkash’. The fire spread immediately. In addition to the holiday resort, Sajek Eco Valley Resort, Megh Chut Resort, Maruti Restaurant, a resort under construction including Zakaria Lusai’s residence were burnt to ashes.
Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said an army and fire service team from Dighinala in two-and-a-half-hours drenched. No casualties were reported in the blaze.
He added, “Last night’s fire spread panic among the tourists. Frightened, they started running. I am trying to find out the real cause of the fire. “
Sajek Police Station OC Nurul Alam said the fire started from the holiday resort in the early hours of the night and immediately spread to the surrounding area. The resort, which includes a vacation resort, Sajek Ecovalley Resort, Megh Chut Resort, Maruti Restaurant, and Zakaria Lusai’s residence, was burnt down.
UNB adds: Four resorts and three eateries in Rangamati’s Sajek Valley, one of the most popular tourist spots in Bangladesh, were gutted in a massive fire in the early hours of Thursday, officials said.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the inferno. All the tourists and the staff staying at the ill-fated resorts escaped unhurt, according to the officials.
The fire broke out at Obokash Resort around 4.30am and soon spread to three other resorts and restaurants, said Mizanur Rahman, the deputy commissioner of Rangamati district.
Apart from Obokash, the fire destroyed Sajek Eco Valley Resort, Megh Chut Resort, Mantana Resort, Maruti Restaurant, and two other establishments.
On information, a fire tender from Dighinala Fire Service and Army personnel rushed to the spot but it took them over two hours to douse the flames.
However, what caused the fire could not be known immediately. “A probe has been ordered,” the DC said.
