Fire at Ghorashal power plant after quake halts electricity supply

A fire at the Ghorashal Thermal Power Plant in Narsingdi following a powerful earthquake that shook parts of Bangladesh has disrupted electricity supply to the national grid.

The incident occurred shortly after the tremor around 10:38am on Friday, according to Md Abdul Shahid, senior station officer at the Polash Fire Service.

The fire, which damaged equipment at a substation connected to the national grid, prompted a halt in electricity supply from the facility.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said electricity generation had been disrupted in several parts of the country as a result of the quake.

Md Enamul Haque, chief engineer of the Ghorashal plant, said that the fire was triggered by the earthquake. He added that work was under way to restore normal power supply as quickly as possible.

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake was felt in Dhaka and across several districts, with the epicentre located in Madhabdi in Narsingdi.