DEVELOPMENT HISTORY DEVELOPMENT HISTORY,
The fire and explosions affected the installation of containers near the port city of Chittagong, and doctors say the death toll could rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.
At least 43 people have been killed and more than 300 injured in a massive fire that engulfed a container depot in southeastern Bangladesh, according to senior officials.
The fire broke out Saturday night at a container facility in Sitakunda, 40 km (25 miles) from the port city of Chittagong, and caused multiple explosions, officials said.
“The death toll has risen to 43,” Chittagong chief medical officer Elias Chowdhury told Al Jazeera. He added that more than 300 people had been injured in the blaze and subsequent blasts.
“The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition,” Chowdhury told AFP.
Six firefighters are among the dead, Brigadier General Uddin, director general of the Fire and Civil Defense Service, told Al Jazeera.
At least 21 firefighters, who had been at the scene to try to put out the blaze, were injured.
They were injured during the secondary explosions.
(Al Jazeera)
What caused the fire?
The blasts shook the neighborhood and shattered the windows of nearby houses, local residents said.
“I was standing inside the tank. The explosion threw me about 10 meters [11 yards] from where he stood. My hands and legs are burnt, “said Tofael Ahmed, a truck driver.
The blast was so strong that it shook residential buildings several kilometers from the depot, said Mohammad Ali, 60, who owns a grocery store nearby.
Firefighters were still working to put out the blaze Sunday morning, police said.
Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chaudhury, reporting from Dhaka, said efforts were being made to prevent the explosion of containers containing chemicals.
It was not immediately known what caused the fire. Firefighters suspected it may have originated from a hydrogen peroxide container and quickly spread to other containers.
About 5,000 containers are in the BM Inland Container Depot, which handles goods for export and import, according to local media.
Chaudhury said security measures at industrial facilities have improved since the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, but that chemical plants located very close to cities still pose a risk to both residents and workers.
Chittagong Civil Surgeon Mohammed Elias Hossain has urged all district doctors to help deal with the situation and has called for emergency blood donations.
Faisal Mahmud contributed from Dhaka