Nearly 23 hours after a devastating fire broke out at the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, firefighters are still struggling to fully extinguish the flames.
As of Sunday noon, smoke was still seen billowing from the import godown near Gate-8 of the airport.
Duty officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters control room, Lima Khanom, told UNB around 1 pm, “The fire has not been completely extinguished yet. Our operation is ongoing. We will inform you once it is fully doused.”
The blaze erupted between 2:15 pm and 2:30 pm on Saturday at the airport’s import cargo village. Within moments, it spread rapidly, burning down two of the three sections of the cargo complex before reaching the chemical godown near Gate-8.
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The Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence said around 10 pm on Saturday that the fire had been brought under control but not fully extinguished, adding that it would take more time. Even by Sunday noon, the operation was still ongoing.
Flight operations at the airport resumed normally after 9 pm on Saturday, according to the authorities.
A six-member probe committee has been formed to investigate the incident, with instructions to submit its report within five working days.
At least 37 personnel, including two firefighters, 25 Ansar members, and 10 others from different agencies, sustained injuries while battling the blaze.
Though the incident is among the most severe in the airport’s history, no major casualties were reported.
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This is the first time 37 Fire Service units worked simultaneously to control such a large airport fire. Around 5,000 members of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), including officers from six police stations under Uttara Division, joined the operation alongside the army, navy, air force, Ansar, RAB and Fire Service teams.
Officials said the coordinated efforts helped bring the massive blaze under control more quickly.