Home ›› 07 Jun 2022 ›› Front
Firefighters continued their efforts for the third consecutive day until Monday night to completely douse the fire at BM Container Depot in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram, which has left dozens killed and hundreds wounded since Saturday night.
While the government has vowed stern actions against anyone found guilty of negligence, it has come to light that the depot did not have a fire safety plan and enough firefighting equipment while its officials and workers did not have any basic firefighting training.
On the other hand, depot owners say they suspect it was an act of sabotage that led to the explosions and massive fire that destroyed hundreds of containers at the private inland depot in the upazila’s Bhatiari area and killed more than 40 people.
On Monday morning, Fire Service and Civil Defence officials said the depot authorities brought handling equipment and new workers to remove the burnt containers. Eight teams of firefighters were also ready to assist.
Dozens of new depot workers without wearing any fire safety equipment were seen walking around inside randomly and even disregarding the risks while working near the containers that were still burning.
Ashraf Uddin, supervisor of the new workers deployed by depot the owner from his other entities, was among the employees who survived the inferno without minimum fire safety equipment or firefighting training.
Talking about fire safety, he told The Business Post that there was indeed some firefighting equipment, including fire extinguishers and sand buckets, in different parts of the depot but they were not used when the fire started.
“I was working at the customs office when the explosions started about an hour into the fire. The blasts shattered the windows and sent the furniture flying,” said the 65-year-old.
Walking next to a burning container, another worker named Mizanur Rahman said, “I don’t have much firefighting training. I don’t know whether we are supposed to get any.”
Fire Service Deputy Director Mohammad Aktaruzzamn also told reporters that the depot’s inadequate fire extinguishing system was not used.
The depot’s walls, now mere debris, also had various fire hazard warning signs on them but no one used to pay much attention to those, said another worker, requesting anonymity.
Fire Service’s initial investigations also found that the depot had minimal fire safety equipment including hydrants. Firefighters alleged that the container facility management did not inform rescuers about the chemicals right away, which could have saved many lives.
“The huge depot actually had no fire safety plan,” said a firefighter, adding that containers with flammable chemical hydrogen peroxide were kept with those full of export-bound food and garment products. “It was an utmost necessity to take extra caution for the chemical containers.”
War-ravaged zone
The depot, sitting on 24 acres of land on the outskirts of the port city, looked like a war-ravaged zone on Monday as smokes kept billowing out from many containers.
At least 10 containers were still burning until Monday afternoon and firefighters were working to extinguish them separately.
Fire Service and army officials said they found at least four more unexploded containers of flammable chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, forcing rescuers to proceed with extreme caution.
“The presence of chemicals made it difficult for us too risky to work close by,” a firefighter told journalists.
A 20-member special HAZMAT (hazardous material) team with two tenders from Dhaka also arrived in Chattogram on Monday to assist with the firefighting efforts.
Journalists on Monday visited the relatively safe areas where the fires were completely doused inside the wrecked depot, which was used to keep containers of goods meant to be exported by various companies.
Some containers, kept in several layers, were still burning on the right side of the main entrance — very close to the depot’s fuel storage.
Fire Service Deputy Director Aktaruzzamn said the depot’s owner was yet to inform them about the amount of fuel kept in the underground storage.
Flames were seen in some warehouses of food stocks at the far end of the depot as well. But no one was seen working on putting out that fire as some depot workers walked around them without safety equipment.
Around noon, firefighters made all the civilians, including workers and journalists, leave the area for safety purposes. Later in the day, the four chemical containers were also safely moved away from the fire.
Talking to the media, Shamsul Haider Siddiqui, the general manager of Smart Group which owns the depot, said, “Many of the depot’s senior officials are either dead or injured. We do not enough information about the number of chemical containers that were in the depot.”
BM Container Depot, a joint venture of Bangladeshi and Dutch businessmen, is a well-equipped inland container depot that handles all kinds of export items and 37 import items through Chittagong Port.
Death toll at 41
Meanwhile, the district’s Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mominur Rahman removed confusion about the death toll on Monday, revising and lowering it to 41.
“Some bodies were taken to the morgue of Chittagong General Hospital and were counted there once. The same bodies were counted again at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). This error pushed the death toll up to 49 on Sunday,” he said. “Later, all of the bodies were brought to CMCH. As of now, 41 bodies have been found.”
Among the deceased, 25 have so far been identified and 22 of them have been handed over to their families.
District administration officials said the bodies of other deceased have become so unrecognizable that they would have to be identified through DNA tests.
The police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been tasked with collecting samples from relatives of missing people for DNA tests. CID officials said it may take at least one month to complete the process.
Firefighter sources said no new body was found Monday as searches continued alongside the efforts to douse the fire.
Many of the injured, with up to 70 per cent burns on their bodies, were still in critical condition on Monday. Most of them were being treated at CMCH while many more at the Combined Military Hospital in the port city.
Until Monday, 16 with critical burn injuries were brought to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka for better treatment. Three more would also be moved to Dhaka, doctors said.
Home Minister vows justice
After visiting the depot and the injured at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital on Monday, Home Minister Asaduzzman Khan Kamal vowed to hold a trial of those found responsible for the deadly fire.
“An investigation is underway and justice will be ensured according to the law,” he said, adding the government does not indemnify anyone who commits a crime.
The minister’s remarks came amid media reports that the depot had no license and permission to keep chemical containers.
“None of the responsible people will be spared, no matter how powerful they are. No one is above the law,” he added.
