Mirpur chemical warehouse still burning after daylong battle. Why?
The search operation in the garments factory area has been completed, and the recovered bodies have been sent to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Tajul Islam said.
At least 16 people were killed and several others injured in a fire that engulfed a chemical warehouse and a nearby garment factory in Shialbari, Mirpur in the capital today (14 October), while firefighters are still struggling to bring the blaze fully under control.
Despite battling the fire throughout the day, the Fire Service and Civil Defence could not yet declare the operation over, as flames continue to burn inside the chemical warehouse — posing extreme danger due to the presence of multiple volatile substances.
Speaking at the scene in the evening, Lt Col Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (Operations and Maintenance) of the Fire service, said, "We have recovered the bodies of 16 victims from the garments section. However, we are yet to determine the number of casualties in the chemical warehouse because our teams have not been able to enter it directly — it's too risky given the nature of the materials stored inside."
He explained that while the fire in the garments section has been brought under control, the chemical section remains highly unstable.
"There are six to seven types of chemicals in there — including bleaching powder, potash, and enzymes — and smoke is still coming out. We are using all available technologies to control the fire. But it will take more time to stabilise this part," he added.
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The search operation in the garments factory area has been completed, and the recovered bodies have been sent to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Tajul Islam said.
At least 12 firefighting units remain deployed on the scene, assisted by members of the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, and other law enforcement agencies.
Authorities have yet to confirm the cause of the fire, but officials suspect that the presence of highly flammable chemicals significantly intensified and prolonged the blaze.
