Massive fire at container depot in Bangladesh leaves at 38 people dead
The fire at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture, broke out around midnight Saturday following explosions in a container full of chemicals. The cause of the fire could not be immediately determined. The depot is located near country's main Chittagong Seaport, 216 kilometers southeast of the capital, Dhaka.
Multiple rounds of explosions occurred after the initial blast as the fire continued to spread, Uddin said. Explosives experts from Bangladesh's military have been called in to assist the firefighters. The explosions shattered the windows of nearby buildings and were felt as far as 4 kilometers away, officials and local media reports said.The death toll reached 38 by Sunday afternoon, according to Ekattor TV station, and the area's civil surgeon said the number could still rise.
Bangladesh has a history of industrial disasters, including factories catching fire with workers trapped inside. Monitoring groups have blamed corruption and lax enforcement. In 2012, about 117 workers died when they were trapped behind locked exits in a garment factory in Dhaka.