The committee formed to probe the Sitakunda container depot fire has found depot owners and government monitoring authority responsible for the horrific fire incident that claimed 51 lives.
The fire originated from hydrogen peroxide, a highly inflammable chemical, stored in some containers at the BM container depot, says the probe report.
Additional Divisional Commissioner (development) Mizanur Rahman submitted the report to Chattogram divisional commissioner Ashraf Uddin on Wednesday afternoon, a month and two days after the fire incident.
The container containing hydrogen peroxide at the BM depot did not have a United Nations (UN) certificate, it said.
Some of the 28 containers were left in the depot for 40 days as the shipping agent delayed the shipment four times. One of the reasons for the fire was the hydrogen peroxide containers that were left for a long time at the depot after those were filled, the report said.
The committee made 20 specific recommendations in their report regarding fire control at inland container depots, said probe committee convener Mizanur Rahman.
The first of the 20 specific recommendations made in the probe is the revision of the 1995 Private Container Depot (Off Dock) Policy. In order to operate a depot, licenses or clearances of 25 government agencies are required.
The report has been prepared on three factors, including investigating the causes of the horrific explosions and fire at the depot, determining responsibilities and making recommendations on what to do to prevent such accidents.
The investigation took the testimony of 24 people including five officers and employees of BM Depot. Besides, BM Depot Managing Director Mostafizur Rahman and Director Mujibur Rahman were also questioned, said Mizanur.
He said the report was prepared based on the reports of the Port Authority, Customs, Fire Service and Civil Defense, Explosives Department, Environment Department, Labor Department and Shipping Department.
Besides, 18 samples of different chemicals were tested in the labs of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Dhaka, the Environment Department in Chattogram and Chattogram University. The reports of these testing have also been included in the probe report.
Police on Wednesday recovered the remains of another body from the shade of BM container depot in Sitakunda, one month after the devastating fire incident.
With the recovery of the skull and bones, the death toll from the massive inferno rose to 51.
Fifty were killed and over 200 injured in a fire and subsequent blasts at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda of Chattogram on June 4.
Ten firefighters died in the incident. It is said to be the ‘largest death figure’ the fire service has seen in a single incident.
