Sitakunda depot directors were negligent in operations: State minister
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the directors were negligent in operating the BM Container Depot in Sitakunda that caught fire last night leaving at least 49 people including firefighters and cops dead.
A three-member committee has been formed by Chattogram Port to investigate the incident, he said while talking to the media on Sunday (5 June).
The committee has been asked to report within the next three days, he added.
The state minister said they will consider forming a high-level investigation committee consisting of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Ministry of Shipping once the report is in hand.
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"I think the inclusion of the NBR in this committee is important because they are authorised to accept product declarations. The ministry just handles and learns about the goods later," said the state minister.
He said different measures need to be taken if depot authorities declare hazardous material stored there.
"It is necessary to check whether such private container depots have the preparation and manpower that are needed. If so, why didn't they work? Why were there so many casualties? These will come out of our investigation, said the state minister.
It is not possible to say at this moment what actually happened here, who is responsible, he added.
Regarding the arrival and scanning of dangerous products, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said, there was no scanner before. Now that the scanner has been installed, more scanners are in the process of being installed.
He also noted a number of measures that have been taken since the incident in Beirut.
"While making a list of dangerous products in the port area, we were ensured that there were no dangerous products in the port area, claimed the state minister.
