CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH - JUNE 5: Firefighters still try to contain the fire caused by an explosion at a private Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong, Bangladesh on June 5, 2022.
At least 40 people have been killed and over DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - A massive fire at a container depot near a port city in southeastern Bangladesh killed at least 49 people, including nine firefighters, and injured more than 100 others, officials and local media reported Sunday, as efforts to extinguish the blaze continued into a second night.The inferno at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture, broke out around midnight Saturday following explosions in a container full of chemicals.
The cause of the fire could not be immediately determined. The depot is located near country’s main Chittagong Seaport, 216 kilometers (134 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.At least nine firefighters were among the dead, according to Brig.
Gen. Main Uddin, director general of the Bangladesh fire service and civil defense. More than 10 others were being treated for burns, he added.RELATED: Video shows woman with dementia being abducted in CanadaMultiple rounds of explosions occurred after the initial blast as the fire continued to spread, Uddin said.