The deadly fire on Obhijan-10 running from Dhaka to Barguna on Friday was caused by an explosion, the owner said denying mechanical faults.
The launch caught fire in the middle of the Sugandha River off the coast of Jhalakathi district's Sadar upazila, leaving dozens dead and many missing.
Contacted on Friday noon, Hum Jalal Sheikh, the owner of the gutted vessel, told UNB that Anwar, one of the supervisors of the launch, informed him about the fire around 3:00am.
Quoting Supervisor Anwar, Hum Jalal said there was an explosion on the second floor, followed by a fire that spread in the cabins of the third floor and the ground floor in the rear of the launch. However, it was not known yet how the fire started.
In response to a question about mechanical faults, Jalal said that the launch had at least 21 fire extinguishers, but the fire spread so fast that there was no time to use them.
Claiming that there was no mechanical fault in the launch, he said that if the engine caught fire, the fire would never spread to the whole ship. The fire spread from the second floor to the engine and the cabin following an explosion.
Jalal owns MV Obhijan-10, 3 and 5 launches.
"I don't have any insurance for launch," he said.
Meanwhile, the Shipping Ministry and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority have formed two separate committees to probe the fire. The ministry panel has been asked to submit its report within three days.
At least 39 people were charred to death and 72 others injured in the blaze that ripped through the launch carrying some 800 passengers.
The blaze broke out on board the three-storey launch in the middle of the Sugandha River off the coast of Jhalakathi.
"We were alerted around 3.30am," Fazlul Haque of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, told UNB. However, due to dense fog in the area, the first firefighting vessels took some time to reach the ill-fated launch.
“Some 37 bodies have been recovered and 72 people rescued from the ill-fated launch," Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Jhalakathi Moinul Haque told UNB.
Of the 37 bodies, four were identified and the remaining 33 bodies were sent to Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital Morgue, said the ASP.
Of the 72 injured, some 66 with serious burns have been admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH) in Barishal. The others are being treated at Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital.
"Of the 66 with up to 50 per cent burns, 18 are women," said Dr Moniruzzaman, assistant director at SBMCH. "Three women and four men with life-threatening burns have been referred to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital as we've no dedicated burn unit."
However, UNB Barishal correspondent reported that two of the injured succumbed to burn injuries on the way to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
"Jhalakathi’s local firefighters initially tried to douse the flames and later the Barishal fire service joined them," said Kamal Uddin, Deputy Director (Barishal division) of Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Eventually, some 15 fire tenders took nearly two hours to bring the blaze under control, at 5:20am. "The fire was completely doused around 11:30am," said Kamal.
