Dhaka, Oct 18: A massive fire broke out on Saturday afternoon at the cargo section of Bangladesh’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, forcing the suspension of all flight operations and triggering a large-scale emergency response, local media reported.
According to Talha Bin Zasim, an officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Media Cell, the blaze erupted at the cargo village near Gate No. 8 of the airport. As many as 36 firefighting units were immediately deployed to contain the flames. “All our aircraft are confirmed safe. Further updates will be provided as the situation develops,” a spokesperson for the airport told The Daily Star.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, confirmed that the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority, Fire Service, Navy, and Air Force are jointly engaged in dousing the fire. Two platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have also joined rescue operations.
Sources at the airport informed The Daily Star that at least five incoming flights were diverted to Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.
Speaking to The Business Standard, Nasir Uddin, Director of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, said authorities were assessing the extent of damage. “The section storing international courier goods appears to be severely damaged. We’ve also received reports that a nearby chemical warehouse has caught fire,” he added.
The incident comes amid rising concerns over Bangladesh’s fire safety standards, following a series of recent blazes. Earlier this week, 16 people were killed in a fire at a building housing a chemical godown and garment factory in Dhaka’s Mirpur area. Meanwhile, a factory fire in Chattogram’s Export Processing Zone on Thursday took 17 hours and 25 firefighting units to control.
