Fire breaks out in Sharankhola seized coal laden cargo

A cargo of coal seized in the Bhola River in the Sharankhola Range of the Sundarbans caught fire on Wednesday morning.

The fire was brought under control after hours of efforts by fire service members.

Forest guards intercepted the cargo along with 9 smugglers in the Bhola River onOctobr 18 the afternoon while it was being smuggled from Harbaria.

Sharankhola Range Officer (ACF) of the Sundarbans Eastern Forest Division (ACF) Deepan Chandra Das said that on Wednesday, forest guards saw smoke coming out of the cargo anchored in the Bhola River adjacent to the Sharankhola Range Office and informed the Sharankhola Fire Service Station.

Fire service members quickly went to the scene and were able to control the smoke by installing a pump machine in the Bhola River and spraying water on the coal for hours.

The ACF said that preparations have been made to unload the coal from the cargo to avoid a major fire accident.

Sharankhola Fire Service Station Officer Md. Aftad-e-Alam said, “The heat of the coal under the cargo caused a fire and smoke was coming out.

The smoke has been controlled. He said that the forest department has been advised to unload the coal quickly to avoid a fire accident.”

Sharankhola Forest Station Officer Deputy Ranger Shyama Prasad Roy said that the forest guards, while patrolling the Bhola River in the Sundarbans, detained 9 people along with a mini cargo loaded with 230 tons of Indonesian coal at around 3:30 pm on October 18.

The detainees were illegally smuggling coal through the Sundarbans without going to the specified destination after loading it from a mother vessel in the Joymoni area of Mongla.