Several firefighters who rushed to put out the huge fire in a warehouse in Bangladesh lost their lives or were injured. At least 49 people have died.
Less than 30 minutes ago
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Authorities estimate that around 300 others were injured in the huge fire in a container area in the town of Sitakunda, about 40 kilometers from the country’s most important port facility in Chittagong.
Several of the containers contained chemicals, which caused powerful explosions after the extinguishing work was underway. It was apparently an important reason why so many died in the sea of flames. Several of them were surrounded by flames, eyewitnesses say.
Hundreds of firefighters fought the fire, which broke out on Saturday night and was not yet completely extinguished on Sunday morning Norwegian time.
–Many critically injured
Among the dead are five firefighters, the health authorities say. They also say that several journalists who covered the fire directly on Facebook have not been accounted for.
Among the injured are at least 40 firefighters and ten police officers, and the number of dead is expected to rise as the condition is critical for several of those injured.
– I was inside the warehouse. The explosion threw me about 10 meters from where I was standing. My hands and legs have been burnt, says truck driver Tofael Ahmed.
Around 600 people are employed at the container warehouse.
–Residential building shaken
The explosions were so powerful that residential buildings shook several kilometers away. A cylinder flew about half a kilometer from the warehouse, says Muhammad Ali, who runs a vegetable shop nearby.
The explosions also sent large fireballs into the air.
– We were so scared that we left home immediately to seek shelter. We thought the fire would spread to the place we live, which is densely populated, says Ali.
–Several of the containers contained flammable chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, which can explode on heating if stored in tight containers.
It is so far not clear what started the fire.
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