The fire that broke out at a cotton godown in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram district yesterday (March 11, 2023) morning was brought under control this morning, around 22 hours after the incident.   Sultan Mahmud, senior station officer of Kumira Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed the development, saying that the fire was brought under control with the help of Bangladesh Army and Navy around 8 am this (March 12, 2023) morning. Members of the army, navy and fire service are tirelessly working to douse the blaze completely, he said. The army will brief about the incident when the fire is extinguished, the fire service officer added. Read more: Sitakunda cotton godown fire: Army, Navy join efforts to control the blaze On Saturday night, members of the army and navy joined the fire service in fighting the fire.   Meanwhile, a 10-member probe committee, headed by Chattogram district administration’s deputy director Badiul Alam, was formed to investigate the fire. The committee was asked to submit a report within 5 working days, Md Towhidul Islam, executive magistrate of the district administration, said. He said there were 2700 tonnes of cotton inside the warehouse which made it difficult to bring the fire under control. Read More: Sitakunda cotton godown fire: Army, Navy join efforts to control the blaze The fire started at the cotton warehouse of Unitex Group in Chhoto Kumira area around 10:30 am yesterday. On information, five firefighting units from two stations responded to the fire and almost brought the blaze under control around 12 pm. But as the fire flared up again, firefighters struggled to douse the fire due to a lack of a constant supply of water in the area. Six more firefighting units joined in around 8 pm last night. Read More EU releases €1 million in emergency aid for people affected by fire in Rohingya camp in Bangladesh The origin of the fire and the extent of damage could not be ascertained immediately. Earlier on March 4, six people were burned to death and around 33 sustained injuries in a fire after a massive blast at Seema Oxygen Plant in the upazila.

Bangladesh Army and Navy joined Fire Service and Civil Defence in fighting the fire that broke out Saturday morning at a cotton godown in front of a container depot in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram. Firefighting units of the Army and Navy reached the spot around 9:30pm to assist the fire service, said Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman. Meanwhile, a 10-member probe committee, headed by Chattogram deputy director (local government) Badiul Alam, has been formed to investigate the fire. “The committee has been asked to submit a report within 5 working days,” Mohammad Fakhruzzaman added. Shafiqul Islam, station officer of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the fire started at the cotton warehouse of ‘Unitex Group’ in front of the ‘Namson Container Depot’ in Chhoto Kumira area around 10:30am. On information, five firefighting units from two stations responded to the fire and almost brought the blaze under control around 12:00pm, he added. But as the fire flared up again, firefighters struggled to douse the fire due to a lack of a constant supply of water in the area, senior Fire Service officer Sultan Mahmud said. Later, four additional units joined the operation, he added. The origin of the fire and the extent of damage could not be ascertained immediately, he added. Earlier on March 4, six people were burned to death and around 33 sustained injuries in a fire after a massive blast at ‘Seema Oxygen Plant’ in the upazila.  

The death toll from the Sitakunda oxygen plant fire rose to seven as another person succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Sunday night, police said. "Probesh Lal Sharma, 55, of Sitakunda died at the intensive care unit of CMCH at 10:30pm. He was an operator of the oxygen plant," said Nurul Alam Ashek, in-charge of the hospital police outpost. The other deceased were identified as Salauddin (33) of Lakshmipur, Ratan Nakrek (50) of Netrakona, Md Kader Mia (58) of Noakhali; Selim Richil (39), Shamsul Alam (65), and Md Farid (32) of Sitakunda. The firefighting teams resumed rescue operations for the second day at Seema Oxygen in Sitakunda at 7am today. They searched through the debris at the blast site until late evening. However, they did not find any more bodies, according to the Agrabad Control Room of the fire service. The explosion at Seema Oxygen Plant in the Keshabpur area rocked nearby neighbourhoods Saturday, killing seven people and injuring more than 50. Chattogram Civil Surgeon Ilias Chowdhury said the process of handing over the bodies of the deceased to their relatives was underway. "Tk 50,000 was given to the family of each deceased." Thirty people are now receiving treatment at CMCH. They were initially given Tk7,000 each. Also, the authorities announced Tk 200,000 in monetary aid to the family of each deceased. Meanwhile, the Chattogram district administration formed a seven-member probe committee to investigate the fire. The committee was asked to submit a report within five working days, Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman said. Also read: Govt announces financial aid for Sitakunda oxygen plant fire victims              

At least 10 people including police and Bangladesh Ansar members were injured during a clash with illegal occupants of Jangal Salimpur in Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram Thursday. The incident occurred in the afternoon when law enforcers went to visit a spot in Alinagar area where a camp of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will be established, said Abul Kalam Azad, Officer-in-Charge of Sitakunda police station. Six of the injured were identified as Ansar member Bablu Mandal, 28, slum dweller Md Aliraj Hossain, 26, Amena Begum,35, Amena Begum, 50, Md Parvez and Md Rasul,20. They have been sent to Chattogram Medical College and hospital, said the OC. As the illegal occupants started throwing brick chips at the administrative officers on visit, police was forced to fire rubber bullets in defence, said OC Abul Kalam. On August 30, the district administration warned of an eviction drive to the illegal occupants of  Jangal Salimpur if they don’t relocate willingly. Also read: Over 400 BNP members booked over Faridpur clash

Dhaka, Jun 12 (UNB) –The death toll from BM Container Depot depot fire rose to 47 as another victim died at a private hospital in Chattogram on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Nurul Kader, 22, a staff of the depot of Bashkhali upazila. READ: Sitakunda fire: 8 BM Container Depot officials sued Nurul had been undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Parkview Hospital since June 4 where he succumbed to his injuries around 2 pm, said deputy general manager of the hospital Humayun Kabir.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has recovered 10 digital video recording (DVR) machines from the IT room of the BM container depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram. The CID team collected information and pictures and the burned DVR machines from the IT room on Saturday. A total of 118 CCTV cameras were installed in the depot area for monitoring, most of which were damaged during the explosions, said CID inspector Mohammad Sharif. Also read: Sitakunda fire: 8 BM Container Depot officials sued “Though most of the machines were burned, we collected them and handed them over to Sitakunda police. Now we will try to retrieve the information from the machines by experts ,” he added. Meanwhile, the cleaning activities of the debris inside the container depot are going on to make it functional again. According to sources, "the debris and the damaged containers are being removed by using cranes, excavators and bulldozers.” Also read: Ctg container depot fire fully doused after 85 hrs Depot authorities are removing these with their own manpower and equipment, sources added. Earlier, on Saturday night, at least 46 people were killed including firefighters and over 200 injured in a devastating fire and explosions at the BM container depot in Sitakunda.

The district administration on Monday revised the death toll from Sitakunda container depot fire to 41 down from the earlier confirmed figure of 50.   Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Mominur Rahman said the actual death toll from the BM container depot fire was 41 after a recount of the bodies kept at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. He said the earlier toll was an outcome of counting some of the bodies twice at different hospitals. Brig. General Shamim Ahsan, director of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital said “We have got 41 bodies and the authorities concerned have conducted the autopsy of 18 on Sunday.” The identities of 24 people were confirmed, he said adding nine of them were firefighters. So far, 21 bodies were handed over to the families. The firefighters were still trying to completely extinguish the fire until 7:30 pm on Monday, 46 hours after the disaster. READ: US, UK, Swiss envoys condole loss of lives in Sitakunda fire A team of Bangladesh Army is still working to bring the fire under control and prevent the spread of chemical in the area. According to fire service sources, the container depot contained a large quantity of chemicals called 'hydrogen peroxide'. Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound and it acts like explosives at high temperature. The fire broke out at the BM Container Depot on Saturday at Sonachhari in Sitakunda upazila. Explosions were also occurred during the fire. Over 200 people suffered injuries. Around 130 people are undergoing treatment at the burn unit of CMCH, said Anisur Rahman, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defense.

Ramjanul Islam Rony, one of the 9 brave firefighters who died in the deadly fire at the BM Container Depot on Saturday night, had been posted to Sitakunda Fire Station just 3 months ago. The 22-year-old firefighter from Sherpur joined the Fire Service some one-and-a-half years ago and died valiantly on duty while trying to douse an initial blaze at the container depot that created a huge explosion due to chemicals stored in the container, said Humayun, ward-3 member of Charsherpur Union Parishad in Sherpur. On Sunday afternoon, when the news of his death reached his home at Herua Balurghat village in Charsherpur union in Sherpur sadar upazila, a heart wrenching scene ensued, said Md Selim Reza, Charsherpur UP Chairman. Rony went missing on Saturday night while dousing the fire and on Sunday noon his body was identified by his fellow firefighters at the morgue of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), he said. Rony’s 19-year old wife Rupa Akter whom he married just four months ago was completely devastated after receiving the news and  fell unconscious several times, he said. His mother Kamrunnahar Ratna, uncle and some other family members have rushed to Chattogram to return the body of their beloved family member back to his home, said UP Chairman Selim Reza. The death toll from the deadly fire at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram rose to 49, and of them nine were fire service members. Also read: Massive fire at Ctg container depot: Death toll climbs to 49, over 200 injured

The young man whose Facebook Live broadcast captured the deadly explosion that occurred as fire fighters fought the initial blaze at the BM Container Depot in Sitakunda on Saturday night has, as feared, died. The deceased was identified as Oliur Rahman, son of Ashik Miah of Moulvibazar. He was a young worker at the Container Depot. Oliur remained missing until Sunday noon. Later, his co-workers identified his body at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), confirmed one of his co-workers Ruel. Also read:Firefighter Maniruzzman transferred to Kumira 2 months ago, says uncle Ruel said Oliur might have died from the impact of the blast. He said, “It was dinner time when the explosion occurred. We left the depot for dinner, but Oliur stayed there to make it live on Facebook.” Oliur went live from his Facebook when the massive fire broke out at the container depot in Sitakunda on Saturday night. He was informing everyone about the fire on Facebook Live. The broadcast firefighters and other depot staff struggling to contain the fire. Around 41 minutes into his broadcast, a blast occurs and the screen goes black, indicating whoever was holding the phone had clearly lost control of it. People calling Oliur's phone from that point onwards found it switched off and he went missing. The blast amid the fire is suspected to have also been the cause for the greatest loss of firefighters in a single incident in Bangladesh's history. Oliur’s relatives went to the CMCH to receive his body, said Ruel. “The death toll from the fire climbed to 49 and there were seven fire service members among the deceased,” said Anisur Rahman, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defense, while briefing reporters at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital over the deadly fire incident. Besides, over 200 people suffered injuries. Also read: Sitakunda fire exposes fragile state system Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defense Assistant Director Faruk Hossain Shikdar said a large explosion rocked the area on Saturday night. "The explosion was heard within a radius of 4km from the spot," Faruk added. A total of 15-20 explosions occurred at the depot following the fire, he said. Shahjahan Shikdar, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters (media), said 13 firefighters are undergoing treatment at Chattogram Combined Military Hospital (CMH).

Two committees have been formed to investigate the fire at BM Container Deport in Sitakunda in Chattogram. The Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defense formed a seven-member probe body to ascertain the cause of the fire and extent of damages. Also read: PM shocked at loss of lives in Sitakunda fire The committee has been asked to submit its report within five working days. UNB Chattogram correspondent reports: Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments also formed a three-member committee to probe the incident. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three working days. Headed by Shipon Chowdhury, assistant director general of the department, the other members of the committee are—Shubhankar Datta, labour inspector (health) and Shamim Hossain, labour inspector (security). Also read: Massive fire at Ctg container depot: Death toll climbs to 43, over 200 injured Besides, the local administration will also form a probe body, said Mominur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Chattogram. Forty-three people including seven fire service members have died so far and over 200  injured in the massive fire at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram.