No more such tragic fire incident should occur again
A tragic fire tore through a gas lighter factory in Kadamtali area of South Keraniganj has claimed six lives. Several people have been admitted to hospital with burn injuries.
We pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in peace. We also express our deepest condolences to the bereaved families. Surprisingly, how the factory, which had been sealed for a long time, was still operating.
A horrific fire broke out on Saturday. Thick black smoke was rising high from the burning factory, which gradually spread to the surrounding areas. The entire factory was burning. Along with the fire service, local people also helped to put out the fire.
Fire service officials received the report of the fire incident at 1:11 pm. Two units from Keraniganj Fire Station quickly rushed to the spot and started extinguishing the fire. Later, five more units from other stations including the headquarters joined the effort.
The fire was brought under control at around 2:30 pm, but it was completely extinguished at around 4:45 pm. Then the search began. Since the factory was a tin shed, it was natural that various flammable materials were kept inside.After the fire broke out, the gas cylinders inside the factory exploded one after another. The sound shook the surrounding areas. The locals panicked.
Unfortunately, like previous fires in Dhaka, there were no fire prevention measures there. After extinguishing the fire, rescue workers searched inside and recovered five charred bodies. In addition, the body of another person was recovered at around 12:15 am. According to relatives, several workers have been missing. The number of casualties could have increased if it had not been for the Eid holidays as around 200 labourers work in the factory.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the incident. Commenting on this as a very painful incident and the loss of lives irreparable, he directed the concerned authorities to provide proper medical treatment to the injured.
The Health Minister has also announced financial assistance of Tk 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased workers from his ministry and announced that the injured will be treated at government expense.
We believe that the most important task is to investigate how the factory was operating even after it was sealed after multiple previous fires at the same factory. We hope that through a fair investigation, the cause of the accident will be immediately found out and the culprits will be brought to justice.
We are aware of several incidents like the Nimtoli tragedy in Old Dhaka in the past. We do not want such heartbreaking incidents to happen again.
