2022 Sitakunda Fire
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On the night of , a fire and subsequent
explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
s at a container depot in Sitakunda Upazila,
Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
killed at least 47 people and injured around 450 others. The incident occurred at BM Container Depot in the Kadamrasul area of Sitakunda Upazila. After a fire started in the loading area at around (), a massive explosion occurred at around 23:45BST (17:45UTC), triggering more explosions that spread across the depot caused by ignition of chemicals stored in the containers. The force of the explosions affected buildings several kilometres away, and one witness stated that the explosions caused a rain of fireballs. The head of Bangladesh's fire service stated that there was
hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...
in the depot which prevented the fire from being controlled. The following afternoon, the fire was still burning and explosions were still being heard. The
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
had also joined efforts to fight the fire. The fire was finally brought under control and ended on the afternoon of 7 June 2022.


Background

BM Container Depot, a private DutchBangladesh joint venture, is an inland container depot (ICD) that has been dealing with goods for import and export since 2011. Mujibur Rahman, the director of the depot, stated that about 600 people were employed there. The depot is one of 19 ICDs in the country. Ruhul Amin Sikder, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), stated that the depot covered about 30 acres. The ICD had a capacity of 6,500
twenty-foot equivalent unit The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is a general unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box tha ...
s (TEUs), and was holding about 4,300 TEUs worth of containers on the day of the fire. Many of these were for the garment industry and contained hazardous chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide. As safety regulations are not strictly enforced in Bangladesh, fires are common in the country.


Fire and explosions

Local emergency services and sources reported that the fire began inside the loading area of the depot around (). Hundreds of
first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include Law enforcement, law enforcement officers (co ...
s and volunteers quickly arrived at the depot and began to fight the fire. The first explosion was massive and occurred around 23:45BST (17:45UTC), enveloping many of those on the scene and sending many others flying through the air. This initial explosion then triggered multiple subsequent explosions. Several of the containers held flammable chemicals, and when the fire engulfed them, they caused explosions and the spread of the fire. The explosions shook the ground in the surrounding area and shattered windows of nearby buildings. The force of the explosions was large enough that it affected buildings kilometres away. The fumes from the fire were also toxic due to the chemicals involved, making the firefighting effort more difficult. A district administrator stated that the fire in the depot had spread to at least seven acres. The army stated that 250 troops were deploying sandbags to keep chemicals from spilling into the Indian Ocean. Fire officials stated that explosions continued well into the next day, complicating efforts to fight the fire. An eyewitness stated that the explosion "sent fireballs in othe sky" that then fell "like rain", and that one piece of debris flew about half a kilometre (0.3mi) from the location of the fire to near where he was. One victim stated that he was standing inside the depot when the explosion threw him about , and that his hands and legs were burnt. The main explosion was reportedly heard from 30 to 40km (20 to 25mi) away. Many Bangladeshis compared this explosion to the
2020 Beirut explosion On 4 August 2020, a major explosion occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, triggered by the ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship and stored at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety me ...
.


Casualties

At least 47 people were killed and around 450 others injured in the incident. A
Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
health official stated that at least 350 of the injured were at
Chittagong Medical College Hospital Chittagong Medical College, abbreviated as CMC is a public medical college located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and second largest medical educational institute and hospital in Bangladesh. It is affiliated with the Chitta ...
(CMCH). Many of those injured were in critical condition. Many of those deceased were so badly burnt that a CMCH official stated that
DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting and genetic fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is cal ...
is needed to determine their identities. Volunteers stated that there were still more bodies remaining in the depot. Brigadier General Main Uddin, Director General of the Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence, reported that five firefighters were amongst those killed, and twenty-one amongst those injured. A number of journalists who were livestreaming on social media were still missing. A Facebook streamer, Oliur Rahman Nayan, a 20-year-old worker at the BM Container Depot, died while live streaming. He started broadcasting the fire incident on Saturday night but could not continue for long as there was an explosion that severed his internet connection and ended the broadcast.


Damage

BICDA spokesperson Sikder estimated that more than US$20 million worth of empty containers and more than US$90 million worth of containers with goods were destroyed in the disaster. Some of the goods stored in the depot were to be shipped for clothing brand H&M, and about 100 TEUs worth of goods were to be shipped for an unnamed European brand, but it is unclear if any of these goods were damaged. Major (retired) Shamsul Haider Siddique the general manager of BM Container Depot, reported all the CCTV footage were destroyed in the fire.


Investigation

Multiple committees were being formed to investigate the incident. During the parliamentary session, MP Harunur Rashid suggested the government form an impartial inquiry committee to find out whether the fire was intentional. He also criticized the government for not arresting the owner of the BM container depot in the incident. On 6 July 2022, the investigation committee submitted its investigation report to the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner. The report noted that the depot contained hydrogen peroxide. The owner of the depot was blamed for the explosion, citing a hydrogen peroxide explosion. The report also recommends amending the current DG Cargo Act, 1953.


Response

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
, the
Prime Minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...
, was in "deep shock and sorrow" due to the severity of the incident, and requested that authorities provide treatment to those injured. The government announced that families of those deceased would receive 50,000 BDT (522.90EUR) in compensation, while those injured would receive 20,000BDT (209.16EUR). On 6 June, the
Communist Party of Bangladesh The Communist Party of Bangladesh (, abbreviated: CPB) is a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Bangladesh. History After the partitioning of India in 1947, during the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party of India in Calcu ...
organized a protest in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. At the rally, they called the incident a "murder" and demanded appropriate punishment for the culprit. Rumeen Farhana criticized the government in the parliament session over the incident. Comparing the incident to the act of murder, she said that the director of BM Container Depot is a member of the ruling party
Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
, who was responsible for storing flammable substances in the depot in dangerous condition without following the rules and regulations.


See also

*
2010 Dhaka fire The 2010 Dhaka fire was a fire in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 3 June 2010, that killed at least 124 people (117 on spot, others later in hospital). The fire occurred in the Nimtali area of Old Dhaka. Cause The fire was started when an ele ...
: Known as Nimtoli tragedy, killing at least 124 *
2012 Dhaka garment factory fire The 2012 Dhaka garment factory fire broke out on 24 November 2012, in the Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 117 people were confirmed dead in the fire, and over 200 were injured, mak ...
: at least 117 died trapped behind locked exits *
2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse) occurred on 24 April 2013, when the eight-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed due to a structural failure. The search for survivors lasted for 19 days and end ...
: Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster, which killed 1,134 * 2019 Dhaka fire: at least 80 died in a dense section of Old Dhaka * 2021 Rupganj factory fire: at least 52 died in a food and drink factory near Dhaka * 2022 Hapur chemical plant explosion: another fatal industrial fire on the Indian subcontinent that occurred on the same day as the Sitakunda fire * 2025 Shahid Rajaee port explosion


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitakunda fire, 2022 2022 fires in Asia 2022 industrial disasters 2022 disasters in Bangladesh Chittagong District Explosions in 2022 History of Chittagong Division Industrial fires and explosions in Bangladesh June 2022 in Bangladesh Explosions in Chattogram Sitakunda Upazila