Photo : Messenger
Thirteen firefighting units are working to bring the blaze under control as flames are seen from inside the mill four hours after the fire broke out at the S Alam Refining Sugar Industries Limited at Isanagar in Karnaphuli upazila of Chattogram on Monday (4 March).
Shoaib Hossain Munshi, warehouse inspector of Karnaphuli Fire Service, said the fire broke out at the sugar mill, owned by S Alam group, around 4 pm and spread soon.
On information, eight firefighting units rushed to the spot and are trying to tame the blaze. Later, five more firefighting units joined with the efforts to put the fire under control. A team of Bangladesh Navy also joined their hands with fire service men. However, the cause of the fire could not be known immediately.
The firefighting units are working relentlessly to douse the fire after having finally managed to bring the blaze outside the storage area under control around 8 pm.
Still fire was seen inside the mill, with the entire stock of unrefined sugar slowly melting. Members of Coast Guards and Air Forces joined their efforts with the firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Subrata Kumar Bhowmik, executive director of Salam Group, said the fire engulfed the mill very fast as the operation of the mill was continuing.
About one lakh tonnes of raw materials of sugar, imported from Brazil worth Tk 1400 crore, might be gutted down in the inferno, he said.
Whether there is any worker stuck inside the mill could not be known immediately. A Fire Service man was injured while extinguishing the blaze, said Shoaib Hossain.
Messenger/Disha
