One dead as oil tanker catches fire in Chattogram
The fire incident took place around 12:50am
One died after a fire engulfed an oil tanker of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port during the early hours today (5 October).
The fire incident took place around 12:50am. It took four hours for the port authority, Coast Guard and the navy to bring the flames under control.
"We received the news of fire after the crew of MV Banglar Saurav called 999. Some crew jumped into the sea, and were rescued by fishing trawlers," said Kofil Uddin, mobilising officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence's Chattogram unit.
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"Later, the navy and Coast Guard ships rescued 48 sailors of the ship. However, a crew named Sadek died while undergoing treatment," Kofil added.
Contacted, Mohammad Yusuf, executive director of BSC, said that details will be unveiled at a press briefing later.
According to the Radio Control Room of Chattogram Port, the oil tanker was waiting to anchor with 11,600 metric tonnes of crude oil. The ship had 50 people on board, including crew members, and the fire came under control around 3am.
Earlier, three people died when fire engulfed MV Banglar Jyoti, another ship of BSC.
Both ships are 37 years old, according to BSC sources.
