Bangladesh: What's behind a series of deadly industrial fires?
A devastating fire killed dozens at a container depot in southeastern Bangladesh this weekend. It's not the first such disaster in the country. Experts say corruption and lax enforcement are to blame.
Hundreds were injured and at least 49 people killed in the fire that broke out on Saturday night at a shipping container depot in Bangladesh.
Officials fear that the death toll could rise as many of the victims are critically injured and some people remain missing after the explosions. The fire took place at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladeshi joint venture in Sitakunda, near the Bangladeshi port city of Chattagram.
Although the reason behind the fire is yet to be discovered, fire service officials confirmed that they had not been informed that chemicals were being stored at the depot.
"The depot operator did not inform the firefighters about the chemicals — specifically, hydrogen peroxide — stored on-site," said Purnachandra Mutsuddi, an assistant director of the Chattagram fire station. "If they did, the casualties would have been much less."
"The firefighters unwittingly doused the hydrogen peroxide with water, setting off an explosive reaction," added Mutsuddi, who lost several of his fellow firefighters at the site.
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