Dhaka: As many as 22 people were killed and injured more than 170 in a massive fire has swept through a container depot in southeastern Bangladesh.
According to media reports, the fire broke out at a container facility on Saturday night at Sitakunda, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the port city of Chittagong, triggering multiple explosions.
“Sixteen people have been killed in the fire. The number of fatalities is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition,” Chittagong’s chief doctor, Elias Chowdhury, told the AFP news agency.
Those injured included firefighters who had been at the scene attempting to douse the blaze.
They were hurt during the secondary explosions.
“Some 170 people were injured including at least 40 firefighters and 10 police officers. Three firefighters were also killed,” said Abul Kalam Aza, the local police chief.
Firefighters were still working to put out the fire on Sunday morning, police said.
The explosions shook the neighbourhood and shattered glasses of windows of nearby houses, local residents said.
Chittagong civil surgeon Mohammed Elias Hossain has urged all doctors in the district to help tackle the situation and called for emergency blood donations.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.
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