Fire Finally Doused after 86 Hours in Sitakunda Depot

After taking at least 44 lives and causing untold damage, the blaze at the BM Container Depot in Chattogram’s Sitakunda has been extinguished, 86 hours after it first sparked.

“The fire has been completely extinguished,” said Lt Col Md Ariful Islam of the 18th Bir Unit of the Infantry Division around 11:30 am on Wednesday. “There are no more fires in the depot and no more flames.”

Though smoke was still rising from some containers, there were no active fires, the army official said.

“The fire in the garment containers was doused with water. That is why there is still smoke,” Lt Col Ariful said.

The blaze at the private container depot in the Keshabpur area started on Saturday night. The fire service, with support from the army, the navy, and other government agencies, had been trying to put out the fire and conduct rescue operations for the past three days.

On Sunday, the district administration counted 41 deaths from the blaze, including nine firefighters. The remains of two other people were recovered from the depot debris on Tuesday, the fire service said. Another victim of the fire succumbed to his injuries at Chattogram Medical College Hospital early on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 44.

Most of the victims are fire service personnel, depot workers, container vehicle drivers, assistants and loaders. Over 100 people have been admitted to hospitals in Chattogram and Dhaka with injuries. Some of them are in critical condition.

“No more bodies were found in our sweep of the entire depot,” Lt Col Ariful said. “But you can see that a shed and several containers have been damaged heavily. They are being moved by crane. We cannot say whether there are bodies trapped underneath them.”

The inland depot was set up through the investment of private companies in Bangladesh and the Netherlands in 2011. It is owned by Mostafizur Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Smart Group of Industries and his younger brother Mujibur Rahman, an Awami League leader from the Chattogram South District.

Containers of hydrogen peroxide produced by a Smart Group company named Razi Chemical Complex Limited were stored at the depot. The fire service believes this chemical was largely responsible for the massive blaze.

According to the depot authorities, there were about 4,400 containers at the site. About 400 of those containers were destroyed in the fire, Lt Col Ariful said.

“We have worked from the start to take precautions to prevent other explosions and stop the fire from spreading further.”

The army joined firefighting efforts on Sunday morning. In 24 hours, the blaze was below the danger line, and was largely brought under control within 48 hours, Ariful Islam said.

A special army team is working to ensure that chemicals from the depot do not train into the canal and pollute the sea.