Oxygen plant fire kills 5 at Sitakunda

At least five people were killed and thirty others wounded as a fire broke out this afternoon at a private oxygen plant in Chattogram, officials and reports said here.

The fire broke out at the Seema Oxygen Oxico Ltd. it killed five people and wounded over 30 others.

The incident took place at Sheema Oxygen Plant in Kadamrasul next to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway area around 4:30 pm on Saturday.

Confirming the news, Senior Station Officer of Fire Service Sultan Mahmud told the media that there was a big explosion in Sitakunda.

Initially, 9 people have been identified among the injured. They are - Md. Nur Hossain (30), Md. Arafat (22). Motaleb (52), Fancy (30), Md. Jasim Uddin (45), Narayan (60), Md. Forkan Dada (35), Shahriar (26) and Md. Zahid Hasan (26).

Fire service officials said they mobilised nine units of theirs to douse the fire and launched a salvage campaign but immediately could not confirm the casualty figures.

Seetakunda's upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) told newsmen at the scene that according to the initial information he gathered the blaze so far killed five lives and said that policemen extended their hands in the fire service's salvage campaign.

Residents at the neighbourhood said they saw huge flames after they heard a huge bang at the plant.

Earlier, a terrible fire broke out in the same depot on June 5, last year at around 9:30 pm, 25 units of fire servicemen brought the fire under control which killed 48 people.