Fire on Kutubdia LPG carrier under control after 11 hours

All 31 members of the vessel’s crew have been rescued alive

Firefighters and rescue workers have brought the fire on board an LPG carrier at Cox’s Bazar’s Kutubdia under control after more than 11 hours of effort.

All 31 members of the ship’s crew have been rescued alive.

The fire on the vessel – named the Sophia – started around 12:45am on Sunday as it was in western outer anchorage on the Kutubdia coast.

The fire was eventually brought under control around noon with support from Coast Guard and Navy personnel, according to Lt Commander Khandark Munif Taki, a spokesman for the Coast Guard.

Firefighting and rescue efforts are still ongoing as there is risk of the fire flaring up again.

The Coast Guard official said the LPG carrier had anchored on its way to the Chattogram Port when the massive blaze began.

Two Coast Guard vessels and five Navy vessels began firefighting and resue operations when locals and the Kutubdia Upazila administration reported the incident.

There were a total of 31 crew members on board the vessel and everyone has been rescued alive, Lt Col Taki said.

They are at the Hotel Agrabad in Chattogram after being administered first aid.

The Coast Guard is making inquiries to find out whether the incident was just an accident or an act of sabotage, Taki said.

He was unable to say where the vessel had come from and how much LPG was on board at the time the fire started.

The blaze marks the third instance of a fuel vessel catching fire within Bangladesh’s maritime borders in the past two weeks.

A blast on board the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation-owned ‘Banglar Jyoti’ oil tanker at the Chattogram Port’s Dolphin Jetty on Sept 30 led to the deaths of three people.

Then, on Oct 5, another fire broke out on the ‘Banglar Sourav’ oil tanker at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram Port. The vessel was also owned by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.