Over 40 people died and more than 150 have been injured in a devastating fire and a container blast in a depot in Chittagong, Bangladesh at 9 PM (local time) on 4 June.
Police and fire service officials say the fire erupted in a container in BM Container Depot Ltd, a Netherlands-Bangladesh joint venture, located at Sitakunda of Chittagong.
Fire service personnel had been trying to douse the fire but at 11 PM (local time) the fire continued to spread from one container to another.
Suddenly, a chemical laden container blasted killing four people and injuring police and fire service personnel, among others. At least 150 people, who suffered severe injuries, were taken into Chittagong Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The explosion was so powerful that glasses of all buildings in five kilometres radiant were broken down, according to local residents.
At least 15 units of fire service are trying to douse the fire at the time of writing. Fire service personnel say the heat occurred from chemical blasts is too high that they are failing to go near to douse the fire.
Fire service officials add the fire is still raging and small explosions were going off in the fire-ravaged containers. Sources said there were approximately 50,000 containers in the depot when the fire broke out, but the number of the boxes that caught fire could not be confirmed immediately.
Sharar Nayel
Asia Correspondent
