Probe report on Shahjalal airport fire to be released soon, says Advisor Bashir

Imported goods are being released through alternative measures now, he says

The investigation report on the recent fire at Shahjalal International Airport’s Cargo Village will be released soon, Civil Aviation and Tourism Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin has said.

On Thursday, he said the eight-member team of experts from Turkey that assisted with the investigation flew back earlier in the day.

Responding to a question, the advisor said: “We expect to receive their report within the next two to three days.”

Clarifying the nature of that report, he added: “The report from the Turkish expert team will not be the final one. Our own report will be the main investigation report, which will be published soon.”

When asked about the airport’s operations, Bashir said: “Imported goods are now being released through alternative measures. Normal operations will resume very soon.”

On Sunday, the eight-member Turkish expert team arrived in Dhaka to assist with the investigation into the fire that broke out at the airport’s import cargo village. The team also held a meeting with the tourism advisor during their visit.

The fire, which erupted around noon on Oct 18 in the import cargo complex of Shahjalal airport, was contained around 9pm that night, allowing flight operations to resume. However, it took a total of 27 hours to fully extinguish the blaze.

The Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) has estimated that the fire may have caused damages worth around Tk 120 billion.