Death toll now 5 in Keraniganj chemical factory fire

Five of a family, including two children, were burnt to death and at least 15 others were injured after a massive fire broke out in a chemical warehouse and spread to two adjacent houses at Gadarbagh of Keraniganj, in the outskirts of the capital, early today.

Witnesses said the fire that originated at the warehouse completely gutted two tin-roof houses.

Locals said one Tutul Haji, a chemical trader from Old Dhaka's Churihatta, constructed two chemical warehouses in the residential area after Churihatta fire tragedy in February 2019, which claimed 71 lives.

Faisal Bin Karim, upazila nirbahi officer of Keraniganj, told reporters at the spot that they had no information about the chemical warehouses.

Mamunur Rashid, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj Model Police Station, said they were yet to identify the warehouses' owner and whether those have approval.

He said the filing of a case in this connection is under process, he told The Daily Star.

One of the deceased was the employee of the owner and his father is the caretaker of the warehouses. The four other deceased are their family members. They have been living in the house for 20 years, said locals.

Fire Service and Civil Defence said they got information about the fire at 4:00am and their six fire engines doused it at 10:50am.

The fire service said flammable chemicals caused the fire, but could not say immediately how the fire originated.

"I heard a loud bang and then a huge fire broke out. As soon as I along with my wife and daughter came out of my house, the house was on fire," said Mohammad Harun, who lived in one of the burnt houses.

"The flame went as high as a 10-storey building," said Mehdi Hasan, who rescued two members of the ill-fated family, breaking open a wall of the house.

The air was thick with the odour of chemicals even 12 hours after the incident.

AKM Shamsuzzoha, deputy assistant director of fire service, said since it was a chemical fire, it generated huge heat. So, it was hard for them to go near the fire initially to extinguish the blaze.