Death toll in Bangladesh container warehouse fire rises to 49, damage expected to exceed $110 million
2022-06-06 08:56:25Source: CCTV News Client of China Central Radio and Television Station
As of 20:00 local time on June 5, a fire in a container warehouse in Chittagong, southeastern Bangladesh, has killed at least 49 people and injured hundreds of others. The Bangladesh Fire Department said the identities of the 14 deceased were confirmed and at least nine firefighters were unfortunately killed.
The accident happened at a private container warehouse in the Sitakunda upazila area, about 40 kilometers from the port of Chittagong, Bangladesh. On the evening of the 4th, a container stored in the warehouse caught fire. The container exploded when firefighters were putting out the fire at around 23:45 that night. The fire spread rapidly due to the presence of chemicals in one of the containers, causing more containers to explode and burst into flames.
After the accident, rescue forces composed of Bangladeshi army, police and 25 fire brigade rushed to the scene one after another to put out the fire. As of around 20:00 on the 5th, the fire had not been completely controlled.
According to Bangladeshi media reports, the country has set up two special committees to investigate the cause of the fire and explosion, and the relevant agencies estimate the economic damage caused by the accident will exceed 110 million US dollars.
Some scholars have pointed out that the flames, smoke and debris generated by the fire and explosion can spread to a radius of 2.5 kilometers, and the air quality within a radius of 10 kilometers will be indirectly affected. Residents about 4 to 5 kilometers away from the accident site said they felt the shock when the explosion occurred, and people living around the warehouse also said they felt uncomfortable in their eyes. (Headquarters reporter Zhang Yue)