Body parts of some victims of the deadly Chattogram's BM Container Depot fire were seen lying on the depot ground as the rescuers moved closer to the explosion epicentre.
Fire service (Agrabad branch) Inspector Mahbub-e-Ilahi blamed the depot owners for hiding information that officially claimed 49 lives – including nine firefighters - and left more than 200 injured till Sunday evening.
"How is it possible that owners do not know the information on chemicals stored in the depot," he exclaimed while observing that owners have a reputation for hiding information in previous accidents.
According to the Fire Service and Civil Defense, fire that caused the massive explosion in the Sitakunda container depot on Saturday night originated from the leakage of the hydrogen peroxide filled containers stored at the off-dock.
Monir Hossain, instructor of training complex section of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that there was no dedicated infrastructure facility for hazardous chemicals to be stored at the Inland Container Depots (ICD).
"Hydrogen is an inflammable gas that can cause fires and explosions when it comes in contact with air. Unlike Oxygen, it doesn't need a source of fire to become combustible," Monir Hossain explained.
"Usually there should be a log maintained for keeping a record of what is in the ICD containers while for chemicals they are supposed to be in isolated arrangement to be shipped," he said noting that none of the safety protocols was followed here.
Admitting the claim, a depot official confirmed that they have no information on the amount of chemicals stored in the depot.
When asked about the amount and types of chemicals kept in the depot, Smart Group GM (admin) Maj (retd) Shamsul Haider Siddiqui, representing the depot authorities, said, "We do not have any exact information regarding this as those who had are either currently injured or dead. But our efforts are underway.
"We have also formed a probe body to investigate the incident."
Shamsul Haider Siddique, a spokesperson of the depot, could not answer questions as to why the fire service was not informed about the chemical. He told TBS that the number of casualties would have been less if the depot had informed the firemen about the chemical stockpile.
As of Monday noon, the official death toll has been 49 while over 200 got injured in the horrific fire that was followed by multiple explosions.
