Ctg depot fire victims groan in Burn Institute

Faruk had to take up the responsibility of his family at an age when most youths stay busy with education, sports, and juvenile amusements with friends.

To make ends meet, the 16-year-old teenager took a meager job as a helper of a covered van that brings goods to BM Container Depot.

The entire depot in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila went down in flames after a massive fire erupted following chemical explosions on Saturday night, leaving at least 41 dead, including police and fire service personnel, and more than 200 injured.

The death toll is likely to rise further as some of the injured persons are in critical state.   

One of the victims, Faruk, a resident of Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram, is suffering groaning pain from severe burns in his body at the post-operative ward of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Gias Uddin, Faruk's brother-in-law, told The Business Standard, "Faruk had been working for three months for a salary of Tk7,000. He has two older sisters and one younger brother. To feed the poor family, he went to work after studying up to 8th grade."

"Faruk was airlifted to Dhaka yesterday. When I went to visit him at the hospital at 3 am last night, he could not speak. He just stared at me for a long time," Gias Uddin added.

Another victim Farmanul Islam, 30, is undergoing treatment at the ICU of Sheikh Hasina Burn Unit. He has been working at the depot for nine years as a checker. About 30% of his body was burnt in the fire.

According to on-duty doctors, his condition is critical at the moment. 

Farmanul sent a video of the depot fire to his friend Belal Hossain at 10:52 pm after the fire broke out.

Farmanul's friend Belal Hossain told TBS, "Farmanul ran but could not escape the fire. When the explosion took place, the sparks ignited his whole body."

Farmanul has an ailing father, mother, and three sisters at home. He is the breadwinner in the family.

Nazrul Mandal, a resident of Faridpur Model Town, is now languishing in the Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute. With two daughters and a wife, he is the sole earner in the family.

His wife Rupa said Nazrul went to the depot on Friday and was supposed to return on Saturday with a load of goods in his car.

Half an hour before the fire incident, Sheikh Moinul Haque, a resident of Bahaddarhat in Chattogram, entered the depot in a car.

Moinul has been working as an input supervisor at the depot for about 10 years with a salary of Tk12,000.

After the fire broke out at night, Moinul broke the back door and came out. Around 20% of his body was burned in the fire.

Moinul's elder brother Misbaul Haque told TBS, "When we talked to Moinul around 11:30 pm, he was being taken to Chattogram Medical College. Later, he was shifted to Dhaka for better treatment."

Md Faruk, a 47-year-old driver of Prime Garments Ltd, has also been admitted to the Burn Institute. A resident of Patuakhali's Mirzaganj upazila, Faruk has two daughters and one son. He is the only earner in the family.  

His elder brother Hanif told TBS, "My brother and I work at the Prime Garments Ltd. I was supposed to go to the depot on the day of the incident but could not go as my car broke down."