A boiler explosion at the Starship milk factory near the Oxygen intersection in Chattogram left several workers injured on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at around 10:30 am at the facility, located adjacent to KDS Garments under the Bayezid Police Station.
Fire service units were alerted at 10:52 am and quickly reached the scene, managing to bring the fire under control by 11:30 am.
Prior to their arrival, factory authorities had already rescued the injured workers, sending three of them to the Medical Centre in the GEC area of the city. These workers are receiving treatment, while others were given first aid and released.
Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Shahadat Hossain visited the site after the incident and confirmed that three workers were injured but are now out of danger. He added that the situation is under control and normalcy has been restored.
Mohammad Sohel, a firefighter from the Bayezid Fire Service Station, stated that three fire service units swiftly reached the site. He further mentioned that the factory authorities had already evacuated the injured workers before their arrival.
He explained that factory officials initially reported that all 11 workers present during the explosion had been injured. However, upon investigation, no additional casualties were found at the scene.
Md Jashim Uddin, Deputy Director of Chattogram Fire Service, indicated that preliminary investigations suggest the explosion was caused by bottle-shaped machinery. He added that the fire service successfully controlled the blaze and secured the area.
Imrul Kader Bhuiyan, Inspector of HR Admin at Abul Khair Group, told TIMES of Bangladesh that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the milk production facility.
He emphasised that there were no safety deficiencies at the plant and that only three workers sustained injuries. He suggested that the other workers might have sustained minor injuries from glass shards while breaking windows to escape the fire.
The Superintendent of Industrial Police and members of the Bangladesh Army also visited the site to assess the situation following the explosion.
