FORTY-NINE are dead and more than 300 were injured in a Bangladesh container fire and explosions at container depot 40 kilometres near the port city of Chittagong, Reuters reported.
'The death toll has risen to 49,' Elias Chowdhury, Chittagong's chief doctor, told Al Jazeera. He added that more than 300 people have been injured in the blaze and subsequent explosions.
'The number of fatalities is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition,' Elias Chowdhury, Chittagong's chief doctor, told the Agence France-Presse.
Six firemen were among those killed, Brig General MD Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told Al Jazeera.
The explosions shook the neighbourhood and shattered windowpanes of nearby houses, local residents said.
A 25-year-old computer operator the depot, Mominul Haque, had his leg blown off in the blast, reported the Dhaka Tribune.
'I have already lost one of my legs. I have started reciting Kalima. Maybe I will not survive, please forgive me,' he told his father over his mobile phone moments before he died.
Earlier he called to tell is father about the fire. 'Mominul called me in the night and informed me about the fire. I asked him to stay safe,' said his father Faridul Alam Chowdhur, a retired school teacher.
'I was standing inside the depot. The explosion just threw me some 10 metres [11 yards] from where I was standing. My hands and legs are burned,' Tofael Ahmed, a truck driver, said.
The explosion was so loud that it shook residential buildings several kilometres from the depot, said Mohammad Ali, 60, who has a nearby grocery store.
Mohammed Manzurul Islam from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society told Al Jazeera the cause of the fire was a container full of the hydrogen peroxide chemical, which spread to other containers including one that was holding garments.
'The problem is that the firefighters [who arrived first at the scene] didn't know there was a chemical,' he said. 'They thought it was a small fire. What I heard from our colleagues was that the sound of the explosion was heard from two to three miles.'
At least 25 fire brigades fought for 18 hours to battle the explosion, he continued.
'The firefighters are afraid that if there is more chemicals there will be more explosions,' Manzurul Islam said.
Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chaudhury, reporting from Dhaka, said efforts were on to avoid the explosion of containers containing chemical substances.
'Many of the containers have fumes coming out of them,' he said. 'Firefighters are worried that if there are chemicals in any of those containers that could be a clear danger to the neighbourhood and the public.'
'The special unit of Bangladesh's military is helping the firefighters to salvage the operation,' he continued. 'There's a lot of chemicals on the ground, and people are saying they are having breathing problems.'
About 5,000 containers are at the BM Inland Container Depot, which handles goods for export and import.
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'The death toll has risen to 49,' Elias Chowdhury, Chittagong's chief doctor, told Al Jazeera. He added that more than 300 people have been injured in the blaze and subsequent explosions.
'The number of fatalities is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition,' Elias Chowdhury, Chittagong's chief doctor, told the Agence France-Presse.
Six firemen were among those killed, Brig General MD Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told Al Jazeera.
The explosions shook the neighbourhood and shattered windowpanes of nearby houses, local residents said.
A 25-year-old computer operator the depot, Mominul Haque, had his leg blown off in the blast, reported the Dhaka Tribune.
'I have already lost one of my legs. I have started reciting Kalima. Maybe I will not survive, please forgive me,' he told his father over his mobile phone moments before he died.
Earlier he called to tell is father about the fire. 'Mominul called me in the night and informed me about the fire. I asked him to stay safe,' said his father Faridul Alam Chowdhur, a retired school teacher.
'I was standing inside the depot. The explosion just threw me some 10 metres [11 yards] from where I was standing. My hands and legs are burned,' Tofael Ahmed, a truck driver, said.
The explosion was so loud that it shook residential buildings several kilometres from the depot, said Mohammad Ali, 60, who has a nearby grocery store.
Mohammed Manzurul Islam from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society told Al Jazeera the cause of the fire was a container full of the hydrogen peroxide chemical, which spread to other containers including one that was holding garments.
'The problem is that the firefighters [who arrived first at the scene] didn't know there was a chemical,' he said. 'They thought it was a small fire. What I heard from our colleagues was that the sound of the explosion was heard from two to three miles.'
At least 25 fire brigades fought for 18 hours to battle the explosion, he continued.
'The firefighters are afraid that if there is more chemicals there will be more explosions,' Manzurul Islam said.
Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chaudhury, reporting from Dhaka, said efforts were on to avoid the explosion of containers containing chemical substances.
'Many of the containers have fumes coming out of them,' he said. 'Firefighters are worried that if there are chemicals in any of those containers that could be a clear danger to the neighbourhood and the public.'
'The special unit of Bangladesh's military is helping the firefighters to salvage the operation,' he continued. 'There's a lot of chemicals on the ground, and people are saying they are having breathing problems.'
About 5,000 containers are at the BM Inland Container Depot, which handles goods for export and import.
SeaNews Turkey
