Bangladesh: Death toll in Chittagong container depot fire rises to 49
Dhaka (Bangladesh), June 5: The death toll in the Chittagong container depot fire rose to 49 and over 300 have been injured in the incident caused by an explosion at a private Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Sitakunda Upazila.
According to reports, the fire broke out at BM Container Depot in the Kadamrasul area of the Upazila on Saturday night.
Istakul Islam, the chief of the Health and Service Department at Red Crescent Youth Chittagong said that "Over 450 people have been injured in this incident of which, at least 350 are at CMCH. The death toll could be more at other hospitals."
As firefighters struggled to put it out, there was an explosion, and the fire spread quickly.
SI Nurul went on to say that it was initially suspected that the container depot caught fire due to chemicals.
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Police, Fire Service and local sources stated the fire broke out inside BM Container Depot's loading point around 9 pm. However, at around 11:45 pm, 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.
The sources further added that the explosion shook the neighbourhood and shattered glass windows of nearby houses.
Md Faruk Hossain Sikdar, Assistant Director of Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defense, stated, "Around 19 firefighting units are working to douse the blaze, and six ambulances are also on the site."
BM Container Depot is set up as an inland container depot that is functioning since May 2011.
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-PTC News
