40 dead in fire at Bangladesh container depot.
Highlights
- Massive fire at container depot near port city in Bangladesh left at least 15 people dead
- More than 100 others are wounded, said officials
- Fire at BM Inland Container Depot broke out around midnight on Saturday following explosions
A massive fire at a container depot near a port city in southeastern Bangladesh left at least 40 people dead and several others wounded, officials and local media reports said on Sunday (June 5), as firefighters struggled to get the blaze under control.
The fire at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture, broke out around midnight on Saturday (June 4) following explosions in a container full of chemicals. The depot is located in Chittagong, 216 kilometers (134 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.
The death toll could still rise further, said Elias Chowdhury, the area’s civil surgeon.
Many fire service officials and police were among the injured, he added.
About 5,000 containers are in the depot, according to Ekattor TV. The depot handles goods for export and import and is located about 20 kilometers from the country’s main Chittagong Seaport.
Jalal Ahmed, a fire service official, said firefighters were still working to bring the fire under control.
More details are awaited in this regard.
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