A fire in a container warehouse in Bangladesh kills at least 25 people: more than 170 people were injured
Steph Deschamps / June 5, 2022
At least 25 people have died in a massive fire still burning in a container warehouse in Sitakunda, southeastern Bangladesh, according to a new toll announced Sunday by a health official.
Twenty-five people died in the fire, including five firemen. The death toll is expected to rise as the fire is not yet fully under control, Hasan Shahriar told AFP.
The fire broke out on Saturday at around 9:30 p.m. in the container warehouse in Sitakunda, located about 40 kilometers from the major port of Chittagong in the south of the country.
According to firefighters, as hundreds of people tried to extinguish the fire an hour after the fire started, several containers of chemicals exploded, leaving many rescuers dead and injured.
The explosion shook buildings located several kilometers away.
At least 170 people were injured, including 40 firefighters and 10 police officers, according to Chittagong regional police chief Anwar Hossain.
The depot contained millions of dollars worth of clothes that were to be exported to Western retailers, Mominur Rahman, the chief administrator of Chittagong district, told AFP.