Boat carrying fuel oil drums goes up in flames in Buriganga; 1 worker dead, another missing

A worker has been killed and another gone missing in a fire that destroyed a boat carrying fuel oil drums in the Buriganga River.

The boat was docked at the jetty of Meghna Petroleum Limited’s depot in Narayanganj’s Fatullah when it caught fire around 1:30pm on Wednesday.

The fire was under control but still burning around 4pm, said Fakharuddin Ahmed, a deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Narayanganj.

“One worker has been burnt to death while another has gone missing. It’ll take time to douse the fire because of the fuel oil. To douse the fire, 10 units are working,” he said.

Citing witnesses, Fatullah Model Police Station chief Noore Azam said huge explosions during the fire spread panic among the locals.

“We initially thought that the oil drums exploded,” he said.

There were four people inside the boat and they were cooking during the incident, according to depot officials.

Its in-charge Ziaur Rahman said the boat was supposed to transport the diesel and petrol drums to Manpura in Barishal.