Death toll in Bangladesh depot fire nears 50

Chittagong: The death toll from a massive fire at a container depot in southeastern Bangladesh reached 49 by Sunday evening, according to officials.

According to details, the fire broke out at a container facility on Saturday night at Sitakunda, 40km (25 miles) from the port city of Chittagong, triggering multiple explosions.

At least 40 people including at least six firefighters. More than 450 people have been injured in the blaze and subsequent explosions.

“The number of fatalities is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition,” Elias Chowdhury, Chittagong’s chief doctor added.

Brig General MD Main Uddin, director-general of Fire Service and Civil Defence said that at least 21 firefighters, who had been at the scene attempting to douse the blaze, have been injured.

They were hurt during the secondary explosions.

The fire is suspected to have started in a container of hydrogen peroxide, before quickly spreading to other containers.

Local residents said the force of the explosion shook the entire neighbourhood and shattered window panes in nearby homes.

Bangladesh has prospered over recent decades to become the world's second-biggest exporter of garments, but the infrastructure and institutional focus for industrial safety is still nascent, the International Labour Organization said earlier this year.

Lax regulations and poor enforcement of rules have been blamed for several large fires that have led to hundreds of deaths in recent years.

In 2020, three workers were killed after an oil tank exploded in another container depot in the neighbouring Patenga area.

Fires are common in Bangladesh due to lax enforcement of safety rules. In July 2021, 54 people died when a blaze ripped through a massive food-processing factory outside the capital Dhaka. 

In 2020, at least 70 people were killed when another fire engulfed several Dhaka apartment blocks.