At least 43 people have been killed and more than 450 injured in a massive fire sparked by an explosion that swept through a private chemical container depot in southeast Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday.

On Saturday evening, the fire broke out at BM Container Depot in Kadamrasul area at Sitakunda Upazila in Chittagong.

“So far, 43 corpses have been brought to the morgue,” said Sitakunda Shahadat Hossain, a senior government official, as quoted by the Dhaka Tribune. “More than 450 people were injured in this incident, including at least 350 at the state-run Chattagram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said Istakul Islam, head of the Red Crescent health and services department. of the youth of Chittagong. by the Dhaka Tribune. “The death toll could be higher in other hospitals,” Islam said.

Meanwhile, Chattogram (DC) Divisional Commissioner Ashraf Uddin further said that the families of the deceased are receiving 560 USD (50,000 Taka) from the DC office. Meanwhile, 224 USD (20,000 Taka) are being given to the families of the injured, the Daily Star reported.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mourned the death of the people and ordered the mobilization of all facilities for the rescue campaign. Officials formed a high-level commission of inquiry asking him to submit a report within three days.

A fire broke out at the container depot around 9 p.m. on Saturday, said Deputy Inspector Nurul Alam on duty at CMCH.

As firefighters worked to put it out, there was an explosion and then the fire spread.

Nurul added that initially it was suspected that the container depot had caught fire due to chemicals, the report added.

Around 11:45 p.m., a massive explosion occurs and the fire spreads from one container to another due to the presence of chemicals in one of the containers.

“The depot was largely empty as firefighters, police and other rescuers rushed to the scene after the fire initially broke out and containers exploding after containers full of chemicals killed them. “, a witness told PTI by telephone.

The blast rocked the neighborhood and shattered window panes in nearby homes, the report added.

Media reports, including TV footage, showed the blast shattered the windows of several nearby buildings and was felt in areas as far away as 4km, creating panic.

Chittagong Fire and Civil Defense Department Deputy Director Md Faruk Hossain Sikdar said: “About 19 firefighting units are working to extinguish the blaze and six ambulances are also on hand.” “Several types of chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide were stored in containers at the depot and the chemicals obviously started the fire,” fire chief Brigadier General Mohammad Mainuddin told reporters on Tuesday. places in the Sitakunda area, on the outskirts of the port city.

The state-run Chattagram Medical College Hospital received most of those injured in the fire, while several others, including dozens of firefighters, were being treated at a military hospital and private facilities.

In a statement, Mujibur Rahman, manager of BM Container Depot, said the cause of the fire was unclear. ”But I think the fire started from the container”.

”Arrangements are being made to ensure that the injured receive the best possible treatment. We will bear all processing costs. Those who were injured in the accident will receive maximum compensation,” Rahman said as quoted by the Daily Star.

“Furthermore, we will take responsibility for all the families of all the victims,” he added.

BM Container Depot is set up as an inland container depot which has been operating since May 2011. The private container depot was built on 21 acres of land in Sitakunda area of ​​Chattagram beside the Bay of Bengal coastline .

Bangladesh has a history of industrial disasters. Past industrial tragedies have often been attributed to safety lapses.

Last year, a fire engulfed a food and drink factory in Bangladesh, killing at least 52 people.

In February 2019, a fire tore through a cramped 400-year-old area with apartments, shops and warehouses in the older part of Dhaka and killed at least 67 people.

In 2012, around 117 workers died when they were trapped behind locked exits at a garment factory in Dhaka. The country’s worst industrial disaster occurred the following year, when the Rana Plaza garment factory outside Dhaka collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.

Another fire in Old Dhaka at a house storing chemicals illegally killed at least 123 people in 2010.

(This story has not been edited by the Devdiscourse team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)