Lagatar24 Desk
Dhaka, June 5: A devastating fire broke out at a private container depot in Sitakunda Upazila in Chittagong, Bangladesh on Saturday night, killing at least 16 people and injuring 450 people.
The fire broke out at BM Container Depot in the Kadamrasul area of Upazilazila. The Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Police Outpost Sub-Inspector (SI), Nurul Alam said that as per the preliminary investigation into the incident, it is being suspected that the container depot caught fire due to chemicals.
In the run-up to dousing the fire by the fire services, a massive explosion took place. After the explosion, the fire spread even further, reported Dhaka Tribune.
SI Nurul Alam said that the fire broke out at around 9 PM. Though the fire broke out at around 9 PM, however, after several hours at 11:45 PM, a massive explosion took place.
Due to the presence of chemicals in one of the containers, the fire spread from one container to another. The deaths were confirmed by Istakul Islam, the chief of the Red Crescent Youth Chittagong’s Health & Service Department.
“Over 450 people have been injured in this incident of which, at least 350 are at CMCH. The death count could be more at other hospitals,” he said.