About chawkbazar tragedy in Bangladesh

The basement of Haji Wahed Mansion – the first building to catch fire in Chawkbazar on Wednesday night – housed flammable material that could have fuelled greater explosions and sent the death toll soaring past even the Nimtoli tragedy

Until Friday morning, authorities did not fully comprehend how much worse the Chawkbazar fire could have been. 

The basement of Haji Wahed Mansion – the first building to catch fire in Chawkbazar on Wednesday night – housed flammable material that could have fuelled greater explosions and sent the death toll soaring past even the Nimtoli tragedy.

A morning raid led to the discovery of stockpiled chemicals – flammable dye, deodorants, and perfumes – in the basement of Haji Wahed Mansion. Similar stockpiles were found in adjacent multi-storey buildings.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director (Training, Planning and Development) Lt Col SM Zulfiqer Rahman said all the buildings that were affected in the fire had warehouses storing chemical materials. 

He said: “We found countless cans of body spray, deodorant, and lighter fluid in the buildings.” 

The fire service director warned that the tragedy – which has taken 67 lives – could have been much, much worse had the fire reached the basement warehouse.

Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Saleh Uddin said: “The entire basement was chock full of chemicals. Thanks to the efforts of the fire fighters, the fire did not spread to the basements. If it did, then we would have had a bigger disaster on our hands.

“The building would have completely collapsed. We would have had a much more difficult time bringing the situation under control. We had an idea about the chemicals in the basement, so we deployed an extra team to focus on ensuring the fire does not reach it,” he added.

Keeping chemicals in places like these is completely illegal, the fireman said, adding: “We didn’t find any of the building owners. It is possible that they are in hiding.”

The Dhaka Tribune discovered containers, sacks, and cartons stacked with cans of flammable material. There were 20kg drums filled with textile dye.

Ratan, a local fire station officer who led the basement raid in search of possible dead bodies or survivors, said: “The basement was being used as a warehouse without any permission. It lacks proper ventilation and has just one entrance. If the fire reached it, the incident could have been much deadlier.”

Md Shamsul Alam, chief explosives inspector, said there were scores of sacks containing raw materials used to make printing ink.

He said: “Once these substances catch fire, they are more than capable of bringing down the house, and worse.”

 

- 데일리코인뉴스는 현장의 목소리를 우선합니다(news@dailycoinews.com) -

- 이 기사는 개인적인 의견과 견해를 나타내는 것으로 본사 편집 방향과 다를 수 있습니다 -

- 기사에 사용된 모든 자료에 대한 책임은 작성자 본인에게 있습니다 -

-언론사 규정 및 본사 내규상 부적절하거나 타인에게 해가 되는 언어 및 내용이 포함된 기사, 타 사이트 홍보 기사 등은 작성자의 허락 없이 삭제될 수 있습니다 -

[저작권자ⓒ Daily Coin News 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

기사 등록시 비트코인 가격
BTC-USD : $ 4,054.00 USD (API by Bitfinex)

2 0 Write