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Date: 04 June 2022 Type: Fire Voyage: Sitakunda
A fire broke out at a container facility at Sitakunda, around 20 miles from the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh, triggering multiple explosions, on the night 04 June 2022.
Several people were killed and injured. The number of fatalities is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition. Those injured included firefighters who had been at the scene attempting to douse the blaze. They were hurt during secondary explosions.
Firefighters are still working to extinguish the fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. Fire service officials said they suspect it may have originated in a container of hydrogen peroxide and spread quickly to other containers.
About 5,000 containers are at the BM Inland Container Depot, which handles goods for export and import.
Later reports stated that 25 units of the fire service and civil defence were working to put out the fires while around 250 members of the Bangladesh Army were working on rescue operations.
Around 2245 hrs on 04 June, there was a huge explosion that shook buildings several kilometres away. The explosion could be heard 8 to 10 kilometres from the scene.
At least 49 people have been reported as killed and over 450 were injured. The police have started collecting DNA samples of the relatives of the victims. At least 9 firefighters died, and many others were injured. Most of the deaths among the firefighters were the result of an unexpected explosion while they were working to put out the fire.
According to the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), over 800 tEUS loaded with export items, mainly RMG products and frozen food, were caught in the fire. In addition, 500 imported goods containers and 3,000 empty containers were also affected.
18 containers carrying hydrogen peroxide were stored at the depot pending export, but it is not yet possible to identify with certainity the source of the explosions. Chittagong Fire Service Deputy Director Mr Anisur Rahman said: “We learned very late from the depot officials that there were containers that contained hydrogen peroxide. No one from the organization informed the first responders about the chemical.” The owners could not be reached for comment in the immediate aftermath of the fire, but they later issued a statement promising maximum compensation for all the victims.
