Toxic fumes prevent rescuers' entry to fire-ravaged chemical depot in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Oct 15 (PTI) Plumes of smoke continued to billow from a charred chemical warehouse here on Wednesday, preventing firefighters from entering the building even 24 hours after a massive fire tore through the facility and an adjacent garments factory, killing at least 16 people in the Bangladeshi capital, officials said.

"Our expert team, wearing chemical suits, opened the main gate of the chemical warehouse this morning, but could not enter. There is a large amount of thick white smoke inside, which is highly toxic,” Fire Service Assistant Director Kazi Nazmuzzaman told reporters at the site in Mirpur.

He said it might “take a long time to bring the situation under control" at the chemical depot, which authorities said had been operating without mandatory permission.

Fire officials said a specialised “Hazmat” unit was deployed on Wednesday, and two members wearing protective suits entered the warehouse to assess conditions, but dense smoke severely limited visibility.

“At this moment, the salvage campaign cannot be launched inside because of security concerns,” Nazmuzzaman said, adding that the depot was found locked from the outside when the fire broke out, suggesting no one was trapped inside.

Fire Service spokesman Anwarul Islam told reporters on Tuesday night that the blaze was suspected to have started at the Shah Alam Chemical Warehouse before spreading to the adjoining four-storey Anwar Fashion Garments Factory.

At least 16 workers were killed and several others injured in the fire that broke out in the Rupnagar area.

All 16 bodies were recovered from the garments unit, where the fire was extinguished within hours by 12 firefighting teams, officials said, adding that relatives had identified 10 bodies, while several others were charred beyond recognition.

Another fire officer at the site told reporters that the garments factory's rooftop was locked, preventing workers from escaping to the open air.

“They apparently died from inhaling toxic gas emitted from the fire,” he said. Eight people were rescued with burn injuries or after inhaling fumes.

Fire Service Operations Director Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said firefighters used LUF 60 robots to tackle the warehouse blaze, and that a search operation would begin once the fire was fully contained.

He urged onlookers and residents to stay at least 300 yards away from the site as smoke continued to billow, posing serious health risks.

Army troops and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel joined the firefighting efforts, while the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sent forensic and chemical experts to collect evidence.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal urged a “social movement” against illegal chemical warehouses to prevent such tragedies.

“Raise your voice against the establishment of illegal chemical warehouses,” he told reporters at the site on Wednesday.

Interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus mourned the deaths and announced investigations by multiple agencies.

"This loss of innocent lives in such a tragic accident is deeply painful and heartbreaking. We stand beside the affected families in this time of grief," the Chief Adviser’s Office quoted Yunus as saying on his return home from a tour to Italy on Wednesday.

The toxic fumes emanating from the burnt chemical godown building caused several workers at an adjacent garment factory to fall sick when they arrived for duty on Wednesday morning, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

Many workers from nearby factories were seen outside their buildings, reporting feelings of sickness due to the fumes, it said.

A 25-year-old female worker of K-Tex Industries located in the same area said her factory was shut down after just two hours of work, the newspaper reported.

"We came to the factory around 8:00 am and worked until about 10:00 am. After that, the authorities shut the factory for today after receiving information that workers at the nearby Rising Fashion factory had fallen sick from inhaling toxic fumes," she said.

Bangladesh has a history of industrial disasters. Past industrial tragedies have often been attributed to safety lapses.

In 2021, a fire engulfed a food and drink factory in Bangladesh, killing at least 52 people.

In February 2019, a blaze ripped through a 400-year-old area cramped with apartments, shops and warehouses in the oldest part of Dhaka and killed at least 67 people.

In 2012, about 117 workers died when they were trapped behind locked exits in a garment factory in Dhaka.

Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster occurred the following year, when the Rana Plaza garment factory outside Dhaka collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.

Another fire in Old Dhaka in a house illegally storing chemicals killed at least 123 people in 2010. PTI AR/SCY SCY