10 workers burnt in fire at Chattogram salt factory, 8 critical

Highlights

• Fire at Confidence Salt factory in Boalkhali left 10 workers with burn injuries.
• Among the admitted patients, the highest burn percentage is 95% and the lowest is 20%.
• All injured workers were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital's burn unit.
• Eight workers are in critical condition with severe burns and inhalation injuries.
• Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident and assessing the damage.

Ten workers suffered burn injuries after a fire reportedly broke out during welding work in the generator room of the Confidence Salt factory in Chattogram's Boalkhali upazila today.

The incident took place at the factory in the West Gomdandi area of Boalkhali municipality.

All of the injured were taken to the burn unit of Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Eight of them are in critical condition, hospital authorities said.

SI Alauddin of the CMCH police outpost said the workers were injured while working at the factory and were later brought to the hospital.

Hospital sources said Didarul Alam, 32, suffered 95% flame burns with inhalation injury, while Mohammad Alam, 45, suffered 65%, Mahamudul Haque, 45, 60%, Ujjal Das, 53, 50%, Nur Nabi, 25, 45%, Mohammad Liton, 28, 40%, Mohammad Zahid Hossain, 38, 35%, and Selim Uddin, 30, 20% flame burns, all with inhalation injuries.

Zahidul Alam, 42, and Sirajul Islam, 34, suffered 10% flame burns each with suspected inhalation injuries.

Around 1:30pm, Dr Mohammad S Khaled, head of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at CMCH, said all eight admitted patients were in critical condition because their airways had also been burnt.

"We received a total of 10 patients around 10:30am. Two of them had minor burns and were released after treatment. The remaining eight have been admitted," he said.

"Among the eight admitted patients, the highest burn percentage is 95% and the lowest is 20%. But it is not only external burns — all of them have suffered airway burns. When the face, throat and chest are burnt, the lungs can also be injured. Such patients may suddenly deteriorate after two to three days," Khaled said.

He said the exact cause of the incident could not yet be confirmed, adding that it may have been caused by a cylinder explosion, generator explosion or some other kind of blast.

Khaled said a five-bed ICU was recently opened on the ground floor of the hospital and the process was underway to shift the four most critical patients there. As one patient was already admitted to the ICU, all five beds would now be occupied.

Regarding the possibility of sending patients to Dhaka, he said no decision had been taken so far.

"We want to treat all of them here in Chattogram. However, if the patients' relatives want referral, they have that right," he said.

"We can currently provide ICU support to five patients. Later, if more patients require ICU care and their relatives want to take them to Dhaka, necessary assistance will be provided through government arrangements," he added.

Confidence Salt Ltd General Manager Md Shamsuddin told The Business Standard that production at the factory had remained suspended for the past week due to a shortage of raw salt, and maintenance work was underway.

"Welding work was going on in the generator room this morning as the generator was set to be replaced. During the work, a fire broke out from a short circuit, injuring several workers," he said.

He said most of the injured were not regular factory workers, but workers under a welding contractor.

"The contractor was using a cylinder for the welding work, and that cylinder also exploded," Shamsuddin added.

Azharul Islam, an official of Boalkhali Upazila Fire Service and Civil Defence, told The Business Standard, "We received information about the fire at 10:10am and reached the spot at 10:30am. We did not find any active fire there, but found smoke from some burnt papers."

"Fire service personnel worked for five to seven minutes before leaving the scene. The factory authorities told us the fire had started from an electrical short circuit. We did not find any injured workers at the spot when we arrived," he added.

Fire Service and relevant authorities are working to determine the exact cause of the incident and the extent of damage.