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DHAKA, Bangladesh — A minimum of 49 individuals have been killed and a whole lot extra suffered burns when a hearth at a container depot in Bangladesh set off a sequence of explosions, officers stated on Sunday, the newest such catastrophe in a rustic the place mass-casualty fires have turn out to be a recurring downside.
Many individuals have been in vital situation in hospital burn wards, in response to native officers, who feared the loss of life toll would rise. By afternoon, two dozen firefighter models have been nonetheless attempting to comprise the blaze, which started round 10:45 p.m. Saturday at B.M. Container Depot within the city of Sitakunda, about 10 miles from Chattogram, Bangladesh’s important port.
After the primary firefighters arrived, a big explosion rocked the depot, inflicting the flames to unfold. A minimum of 5 firefighters have been killed in that blast, and 14 others have been wounded, officers stated. Extra explosions adopted, persevering with effectively into Sunday morning.
“The window glasses of my home are damaged. Not simply ours — we heard from the opposite those that their home windows have been additionally damaged, even at two to a few kilometers away from the depot,” Majharul Islam, 26, a retailer proprietor who lives about 100 meters from the depot, stated concerning the preliminary explosion.
Mr. Islam stated he offered provides to the huge depot’s canteen and that at any time as many as 500 to 600 individuals may very well be working there.
“The explosion happened on one aspect,” he stated, “that may be a small half given the entire depot.”
Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, issued a press release that expressed “deep shock” over the depot hearth and that supplied “condolences to the households of the deceased.” Her authorities’s state minister for labor and employment introduced monetary assist to households that have been affected — about $2,200 for the victims and about $500 every for the therapy of these wounded.
The reason for the catastrophe, at one among Bangladesh’s largest inland container depots, was not instantly clear. Makes an attempt to contact executives on the firm that runs the depot weren’t instantly profitable.
Shahadat Hossain, the senior authorities official for Sitakunda, stated that a considerable amount of hydrogen peroxide could have been saved on the depot, together with different items. “We can’t say something additional proper now,” he stated.
Tons of of individuals have been admitted to Chittagong Medical Faculty Hospital, stated Dr. Mohammed Elias Chowdhury, the civil surgeon for Chattogram, which is also referred to as Chittagong. “A lot of them are vital,” he stated. “Some individuals have 60 to 70 % burns on their our bodies.”
Pictures from the hospital confirmed wounded individuals laid out on the ground, ready for therapy. Dr. Chowdhury stated all depart had been canceled for docs and different employees members on the hospital.
Hasan Mahmud Arafat, 25, a college scholar who volunteered to assist on the hospital, stated all beds within the burn models have been full and that ambulance sirens had blared all evening.
“I noticed 1000’s of individuals come to the hospital to donate blood,” he stated. “I noticed locals come to the hospital with hand followers — they have been fanning the sufferers who have been ready to get a mattress or who have been admitted to the makeshift beds.”
Mass-casualty fires and industrial disasters, notably in garment factories, which account for 80 % of the nation’s exports, have been a recurring downside in Bangladesh. The regular financial progress of the nation of 170 million individuals has been a regional success story lately, however human rights and labor organizations have lengthy expressed concern about poor working situations and office security measures.
The worst of the disasters occurred in 2013, when the collapse of an eight-story garment manufacturing facility killed greater than 1,100 individuals. Final July, a manufacturing facility hearth within the metropolis of Narayanganj killed a minimum of 51 individuals.
Mujib Mashal contributed reporting from New Delhi.
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