Chattogram salt factory fire sends five to ICU

Ten workers are injured in the accident in Boalkhali Upazila, with five suffering severe burns

Five workers have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and three others to the burn unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital after being injured in a fire at a salt factory in Chattogram’s Boalkhali Upazila.

Two others left the hospital after primary treatment for the burns in the fire that broke out in the factory of Confidence Salt Limited in Paschim Gomdandi on Thursday morning.

The injured are Didarul Alam, Ujjwal Das, Mohammad Liton, Sirajul Islam, Zahidul Alam, Mohammad Zahid Hossain, Nur Nabi, Mohammad Alam, Mahamudul Haque and Selim Uddin. Five of them were outsourced workers.

Hospital authorities said Didarul suffered 95 percent burns, Alam 65 percent, Mahmudul 60 percent, Ujjal 50 percent, Nur 45 percent, Liton 40 percent, Zahidul 35 percent, Selim 20 percent, while Zahid and Sirajul suffered 10 percent burns each.

Boalkhali Police chief Mozaffar Hossain told bdnews24.com that the fire broke out when a generator and some other machines were being repaired.

Two air conditioners went off shortly afterwards, intensifying the blaze, he said.

Boalkhali fire serviceman Azaharul Islam said the fire had already been put out when they visited the factory around 10:10am.

However, the fire brigade’s Divisional Deputy Director Md Anwar Hossain claimed that they had received no information about the accident. "Still, our team went there and found nothing. Later we heard that 10 people were burnt."

Borhan Uddin, assistant general manager of the salt company, could not be reached for his for comment.