Welding sparks caused cotton warehouse fire in Sitakunda, loss of Tk100 crores
About 2,700 tonnes of imported cotton, worth Tk100 crore, were burnt out
The fire at Unitex Group's cotton warehouse in Chhota Kumira area of Sitakunda, Chattogram, is believed to have started from sparks from welding going on in the factory, said Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence.
"The fire was brought under control around 6am on Sunday but the dumping work continued for another three hours. Casting work was going on in the warehouse for the last three to four days. The workers said that the fire started from a spark from a welding rod and we have started an investigation based on this information, said Md Abdul Malek, assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Nurul Alam Dulal, senior station master of Sitakunda Fire Station, said there was a lack of an adequate fire fighting system in the warehouse. As a result, the fire spread very quickly. Due to the scarcity of water and cotton being a flammable material, it became difficult to douse the fire.
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About 2,700 tonnes of imported cotton, worth Tk100 crore, were burnt out, Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Shahadat Hossain told TBS.
Earlier, the fire broke out at Unitex Group's cotton warehouse around 10:30am on Saturday. Twenty-two units of the Fire Service, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force worked to put out the fire.
A rescue team USAR (Unit Search and Rescue Team) of the Bangladesh Army reached the spot on Saturday.
A committee headed by the deputy director of the Local Government Department has been formed to investigate the incident. The committee has been asked to submit the report within the next five days.
Located on 1 acre and 94 decimals of land in Chhota Kumira, the owner of the warehouse is Lokman Hossain, proprietor of SL Ship Breaking Yard, Sitakunda. A few years ago he leased the warehouse to Unitex Group. Since then the Unitex Group has been using the warehouse for cotton for their spinning mills.
Earlier, on 4 March, seven people were killed and around 30 injured in a terrible explosion at the Seema Oxygen Plant in Kadmarsul area of Sitakunda.
