The fire at the container depot in Chittagong, Bangladesh has been brought under control, as officials have identified mislabelled chemicals boxes that may have triggered the explosion.
Officials have reported that containers of hydrogen peroxide had been incorrectly labelled by a depot operator, leading firefighters to extinguish flames with water instead of foam setting off an explosive reaction.
The depot’s owner has yet to comment on the allegations.
“There are some rules to keep hydrogen peroxide,” commented Purnachandra Mutsuddi, an assistant director with the local firefighting service.
“Had we known this, we would never throw water. We would never take our vehicle inside the depot.”
Officials have further reported that there is no risk of new explosions as the fire is under control – but has not been extinguished completely.
Local police Chief Abul Kalam Azad said that an investigation into the causes of the blaze is already underway.
The fire broke out around 9.00 am local time (3.00 pm GMT) on 4 June, killing more than 40 people and injuring several others in the explosion that followed.
On 6 June, the health authorities have corrected the number of dead people in the fire incident to 41 from 49 as previously reported.
Hundreds of people were injured or are still missing in the disaster more causalities are expected as some injured are in severe critical conditions in hospitals in Dhaka and Chittagong.
