Death toll from Bangladesh’s container depot fire revised down to 41
DHAKA, June 6– The death toll from a container depot fire at Sitakunda on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s seaport city Chattogram, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, has been revised down to 41 from 49, a senior official said Monday. The fire broke out from one of the containers loaded with chemicals at the private BM Container Depot, a Netherlands- Bangladesh…
DHAKA, June 6 (Xinhua) — The death toll from a container depot fire at Sitakunda on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s seaport city Chattogram, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, has been revised down to 41 from 49, a senior official said Monday.
Chattogram district’s chief administrator Mohammad Mominur Rahman told Xinhua that some of the bodies were counted twice and the death toll, therefore, was reported as 49.
“In fact, the figure is 41. As all the bodies were brought to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), 41 dead bodies have been found finally,” he said.
The fire broke out from one of the containers loaded with chemicals at the private BM Container Depot, a Netherlands-Bangladesh joint venture on Saturday night, leading to multiple explosions in the container yard in Sitakunda.
According to Brigadier General Shamim Ahsan, director of CMCH, at least 250 people suffered burn injuries in the devastating fire that erupted at about 8:00 p.m. local time Saturday, and were treated in the hospital.
The blaze could not be doused completely even by Monday evening despite continuous efforts throughout the day.
Once the flames were doused completely, officials said rescuers will begin to pull out bodies as some firefighters are still missing.
To bolster the rescue and fire controlling efforts, the Bangladeshi Army joined the fire service Sunday, with about 250 members of the Bangladesh soldiers working there.
After visiting the damaged container depot site on Monday, Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said no criminal has impunity.
Culprits responsible for the devastating fire will face justice after the investigation, he said. Enditem