BREAKING: At least five dead and dozens injured in explosion at oxygen plant in Chittagong, Bangladesh

An explosion at an oxygen plant in the port town of Chittagong in Bangladesh left at least five people dead and dozens more injured.

According to local officials, an explosion at an oxygen plant outside the port town of Chittagong in Bangladesh has left five people dead and dozens more injured. The incident occurred at around 4:30pm local time this afternoon, Saturday, March 4.

Local police chief Tofael Ahmed said that the blast trapped ‘many workers’ inside the Sheema steel re-rolling mill. “The fire brigade has doused the fire and they rescued the people from the plant”, he detailed. The facility is located in the industrial town of Sitakund.

#ÚLTIMAHORA#BANGLADESH

Al menos seis personas murieron y decenas resultaron heridas por una #explosión en una planta de oxígeno en las afueras de la ciudad portuaria de #Chittagong. pic.twitter.com/BndoeEGQB5

— 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙮 (@Mario_Moray) March 4, 2023

Speaking with the AFP news agency, Mohammad Fakhruzzaman, the district administrator confirmed that at least five people were killed in the explosion and another 25 people had suffered injuries.

“Glass in many houses was shattered. The entire area went dark”, explained Muslim Uddin who witnessed the explosion. He added that residential properties in the area actually shook from the force of the blast which he describes as: “so loud and devastating”, as reported by thepeninsulaqatar.com.

An investigation has been initiated by the government to determine the cause of the incident. Sadly, this type of industrial explosion is not uncommon in the country. Factory authorities are historically known for not enforcing the relevant safety measures. Only last June, more than 50 people working at a container depot in the exact same town died as a result of a fire that caused an explosion.

This is a breaking news story and we will try to keep you updated as more information becomes available, thank you.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.