Dhaka, Oct 15 (PTI) Smoke continued to pour from a charred chemical warehouse on Wednesday, hampering efforts by firefighters to enter the premises even 24 hours after a devastating fire swept through the facility and a nearby garment factory, resulting in at least 16 casualties in the Bangladeshi capital.
"Our expert team, wearing chemical suits, opened the main gate of the chemical warehouse this morning, but could not enter. There is a large amount of thick white smoke inside, which is highly toxic,” stated Fire Service Assistant Director Kazi Nazmuzzaman at the site in Mirpur.
He explained that it might “take a long time to bring the situation under control" at the chemical depot, which authorities noted had been operating without necessary permission.
A specialised “Hazmat” unit was deployed on Wednesday, allowing two members in protective suits to enter the warehouse to assess conditions, yet dense smoke significantly impaired visibility.
“At this moment, the salvage campaign cannot be launched inside because of security concerns,” Nazmuzzaman added, noting that the depot was found locked from the outside when the fire erupted, implying no entrapments inside.
Fire Service spokesman Anwarul Islam disclosed that the blaze was believed to have originated at the Shah Alam Chemical Warehouse before expanding to the adjacent four-storey Anwar Fashion Garments Factory.
At least 16 workers perished and several others were injured in the incident in the Rupnagar area.
All 16 bodies were recovered from the garment unit, and 12 firefighting teams managed to douse the fire within hours. Relatives identified 10 bodies, with several others charred beyond recognition.
Another fire officer stated that the garment factory's rooftop was locked, hindering workers from escaping to open air. “They apparently died from inhaling toxic gas emitted from the fire,” he mentioned, adding that eight individuals were rescued with burn injuries or after inhaling fumes.
Fire Service Operations Director Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said firefighters deployed LUF 60 robots to combat the warehouse blaze, and a search operation was planned once the fire was fully contained.
He urged onlookers and residents to stay at least 300 yards from the site as smoke continued to rise, posing serious health threats.
Army troops and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel joined the firefighting efforts, while the police’s Criminal Investigation Department dispatched forensic and chemical experts to collect evidence.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal called for a “social movement” against illegal chemical warehouses to avert such tragedies. “Raise your voice against the establishment of illegal chemical warehouses,” he appealed at the site on Wednesday.
Interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus expressed sorrow over the deaths and announced investigations by multiple agencies. "This loss of innocent lives in such a tragic accident is deeply painful and heartbreaking. We stand beside the affected families in this time of grief," the Chief Adviser’s Office quoted Yunus upon his return from a tour to Italy on Wednesday.
The toxic fumes from the burnt chemical godown led to several workers at a nearby garment factory becoming ill when they reported for duty on Wednesday morning, as reported by the Daily Star newspaper.
Many workers from nearby factories were observed outside their buildings, reporting sickness due to the fumes. A 25-year-old female worker of K-Tex Industries in the same area informed that her factory was shut down after just two hours of work. “We came to the factory around 8:00 am and worked until about 10:00 am. After that, the authorities shut the factory for today after receiving information that workers at the nearby Rising Fashion factory had fallen sick from inhaling toxic fumes,” she noted.
Bangladesh has a troubling history of industrial disasters often attributed to safety shortcomings. In 2021, a fire consumed a food and drink factory, killing at least 52 people. In February 2019, a blaze struck a 400-year-old area crammed with apartments, shops, and warehouses in the oldest part of Dhaka, claiming at least 67 lives.
In 2012, about 117 workers perished when trapped behind locked exits in a garment factory in Dhaka. The worst industrial disaster for Bangladesh occurred the following year when the Rana Plaza garment factory outside Dhaka collapsed, killing over 1,100 individuals. Another fire in Old Dhaka at a house illegally storing chemicals killed at least 123 people in 2010.
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)