Massive fire broke out in Bangladesh container depot, 35 killed, over  450 injured

A massive fire broke out last night at a private shipping container facility in Bangladesh's Chittagong, killing at least 35 people and injuring over 450 others.

On Saturday night at 9 p.m., a fire broke out at BM Container Depot in the Kadamrasul region of Sitakunda Upazila in Chittagong, and as Fire Service units worked to put it out, an explosion occurred, and the fire spread, officials said on Sunday.

As per Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Md Faruk Hossain Sikdar, “Around 19 firefighting units are working to douse the blaze and six ambulances are also available on the spot.

“So far 35 dead bodies have been brought to the morgue here,” a police officer stationed at the state-run Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) reported.

Istakul Islam, chief of Health & Service Department at Red Crescent Youth Chittagong, said, "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.”

Police, Fire Service and local sources said the fire broke out inside BM Container Depot’s loading point around 9pm. SI Nurul added that prima facie, it is believed the container depot caught fire due to chemicals.

Due to the presence of chemicals in one of the containers, there was a massive explosion at 11:45 p.m., and the fire moved from one container to another.

As per report,  the blast was so powerful that it shook the neighbourhood and shattered windows in nearby houses.

In a statement, Mujibur Rahman, director of the BM Container Depot, said it was not clear what caused the fire. "But I think the fire started from the container".

"Arrangements are being made to ensure that the injured get the best treatment. We will bear the entire cost of the treatment. Those who were injured in the accident will be given the maximum compensation," Rahman said.

"In addition, we will take responsibility for all the families of all the victims," he added.

The BM Container Depot is an inland container terminal that has been in operation since May 2011. The private container depot was built on 21 acres of land in Chattagram's Sitakunda area, close to the Bay of Bengal's coasts.

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