Staff Reporter:
The devastating fire at the Cargo Village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has been completely extinguished this afternoon after over 26 hours of intense efforts.
“We completely doused the blaze at 4:55 yesterday,” Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Di-rector (O&M) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) said at a briefing at the fire site yesterday afternoon.
He said the cause of fire and full extent of the damage will only be known after a thorough investiga-tion.
He explained the challenge in tackling the blaze was the presence of multiple small chambers (khops) inside the cargo facility.
“We had to control the fire chamber by chamber in order to move forward,” he added.
The fire broke out at 2:30 pm Saturday at Gate No. 8 of the Cargo Village, an area used for storing im-ported goods.
Strong winds were also a major factor in the delay in controlling the massive fire at the Cargo Village, fire fighters said.
A total of 37 fire engines, two air force units, and modern firefighting equipment including robotic air-guns and escalators were deployed to put off the fire. The army, navy, BGB, RAB, police, and Ansar forces also joined the massive response effort.
At least 25 members of the Ansar force sustained injuries and were admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and Kurmitola General Hospital.
Following the fire, security has been tightened across Dhaka’s Uttara area with deployment of 5,000 po-lice to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said all recent fire incidents across the country are being thoroughly investigated.
He also warned that no act of criminality or provocation would be allowed to disrupt public life or the political process.
