CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh — An explosion at a chemical fertilizer factory left at least 200 people needing medical treatment after toxic gas spread across large parts of Bangladesh’s second city Chittagong, officials said on Tuesday.
Police and fire officials said hundreds of residents were also evacuated from their homes near the di-ammonia phosphate (DAP) plant in the port city where a 500-tonne capacity ammonia tank exploded late Monday.
Mesbah Uddin, the district’s chief administrator, said that 56 people had been admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital after the gas leak, none of whom was in a life-threatening condition.
“Eight have been discharged. Forty-eight people are still in the hospital today but they are out of danger,” he said.
“Around 150 people were given first aid locally,” he added.
Firefighters battled through the night to halt the leak and finally declared that the situation was under control in the mid-morning.
“We used loudspeakers to urge people to evacuate the area. Hundreds did leave but they came back after the situation improved,” said Uddin.
The local police chief Rafiqul Islam confirmed that hundreds of workers from nearby factories had also been ordered to leave their premises. Other officials said that strong winds blew the toxic gas across a 10-km radius and there were reports of people being taken ill at the southern city’s international airport.
Authorities mobilized a special team of some 60 firefighters after the explosion triggered panic among people living nearby.
“We saved two other tanks by spraying water,” Abul Kalam Azad, a senior fire official told AFP, adding that the explosion occurred when a tank was being refilled with ammonia gas.
The government has ordered an investigation into the explosion and a three-member inquiry team was scheduled to visit the fertilizer plant later Tuesday, chief administrator Uddin said.
Meanwhile in another development, a Bangladesh special court was expected to hear at least 130 witnesses as the trial over building collapse three years has begun on Tuesday. At least 18 people are standing the trial over the shoddy construction of the factory building which resulted in killing nearly 1,130 people, mostly garment workers.
The April 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza in Dhaka ranks among the world's worst industrial accidents and prompted a global outcry for improved safety standards in the world's second-largest exporter of ready-made garments.
It is alleged that three extra stories were added to the six-floor structure.
The owner, Mohammad Sohel Rana, and former chief engineer are in custody, but at least five of the accused are on the run.
Hundreds more witnesses will tell their stories when 41 people appear on murder charges in a second trial in September.
The worst industrial disaster in Bangladeshi history put pressure on global brands such as Gap, JC Penney and Walmart, which have their clothes made at low cost in Bangladesh.
Some foreign firms have signed up to new agreements to improve workplace conditions.
But rights groups say not nearly enough has been done.
