DHAKA, Bangladesh — At least 39 people were killed and hundreds more burned when a fire at a container depot in Bangladesh caused a series of explosions, officials said Sunday.
Many people are in critical condition in the hospital’s burn wards, according to local officials, who fear the death toll will rise. By noon, firefighters were still trying to put out the blaze, which began around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday at BM Container Depot in Sitakunda town, about 10 kilometers from Chattogram, Bangladesh’s main port.
After the first firefighters arrived, a huge explosion rocked the warehouse, causing the fire to spread. At least five firefighters were killed in that explosion and 14 others were injured, officials said. This was followed by more explosions, which continued into Sunday morning.
The cause of the disaster, at one of Bangladesh’s largest inland container depots, was not immediately clear. Attempts to contact executives at the company that operated the warehouse were not immediately successful.
Shahadat Hossain, a senior government official for Sitakunda, said that large quantities of hydrogen peroxide may have been stored at the warehouse, along with other goods. “We can’t say anything more right now,” he said.
Dr Mohammed Elias Chowdhury, a civilian surgeon for Chattogram, also known as Chittagong, said hundreds of people have been admitted to the Chittagong Medical University Hospital. “Many of them are very important,” he said. “Some people have 60 to 70 percent burns on their body.”
Pictures from the hospital showed injured people lying on the floor, waiting to be treated. Dr Chowdhury said all vacation days have been canceled for doctors and other staff at the hospital.
Hasan Mahmud Arafat, 25, a university student who volunteered to help at the hospital, said all the beds in the burn units were full and ambulance sirens were howling all night.
“I have seen thousands of people come to the hospital to donate blood,” he said. “I see locals coming to the hospital with hand fans – they fan the patients who are waiting for their beds or those who are being put on makeshift beds.”
The fire caused mass casualties has been a recurring problem in Bangladesh. In July, a factory fire in the city of Narayanganj killed at least 51 people.
Mujib Mashal Contribution reports from New Delhi.
