A large number of people gathered at a hospital in Bangladesh to provide DNA samples on Monday, as authorities struggled to identify the remains of more than 40 people killed in a devastating explosion. Dozens of workers who went missing from a container depot are still untraceable, while many of the dead were burnt beyond recognition.
Nine of the victims were firefighters, and officials accused the operators of the BM container depot in Sitakunda of not disclosing a chemical stockpile before the explosion, sending fireballs into the sky.
Munni Akhtar, 25, queued up for hours at a makeshift stand outside the Chittagong Medical College to give her DNA samples. When it was finally her turn, the doctors struggled to stop the tears after taking her blood.
Her lorry driver brother, Mohammad Akhtar, was giving “moving remarks” on the fire on Facebook Live, he told AFP, holding up a phone while showing his broadcast. “Then after the explosion, it was all dark,” she said. “Since then, we haven’t been able to find him.”
Abdul Hannan, 60, took a portrait of his missing son, a worker at the depot. “My son called his wife and told her about the fire,” he said. “He heard the explosion on the phone. Since then, we couldn’t contact him anymore. I’ve lost my baby, oh my god!”
Officials revised the death toll from 49 to 41, but were expected to rise again with at least 14 seriously injured victims being taken to the capital Dhaka in military helicopters for treatment.
Officials said at least nine firefighters were killed – the most Bangladesh has lost in a single incident in the industrial accident-prone country, where safety standards are lax and corruption often enables them to be overlooked.
Officials said two more firefighters were among the many still missing.
“Never in the history of the fire department have so many firefighters died,” said Poornachandra Mutsudi, who led the firefighting effort at the 26-acre facility on Saturday night. “How do you feel when you get your brothers back? No event is so painful.”
smoldering container
Mutsudi told AFP that the depot operator did not inform firefighters about chemicals, specifically hydrogen peroxide, stored on site.
“If they did, the casualties would have been much less,” he said.
Mutsuddi, an assistant director at the Chittagong Fire Station, said firefighters inadvertently doused hydrogen peroxide in water, triggering an explosive reaction.
BM Container Depot in Sitakunda, an industrial town 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Chittagong port, is a joint venture between Bangladeshi and Dutch traders with approximately 600 employees, and began operations in 2012.
Police have not yet charged the fire.
On Monday, more than 40 hours after the explosion, some containers were still smoldering, preventing rescue teams from checking their surroundings for victims.
“The fire has been brought under control,” Fire Department Inspector Harunur Rashid said. “But the chemicals are the main problems.”
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who visited the site and vowed to bring those responsible to justice, told reporters: “Whoever has committed the crime will face action as per law.”
About 90 percent of Bangladesh’s nearly $100 billion trade – which includes clothing for H&M, Walmart and others – passes through the port of Chittagong at the top of the Bay of Bengal.
Rakibul Alam Chowdhury of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said about $110 million worth of garments were destroyed in the fire.
“It is a huge loss for the industry.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.