Bangladesh Begins Investigation Into Fire Incident

Bangladesh police have opened a probe into eight officials directly involved in operating the shipping container depot where a blaze killed at least 44 people, including 10 firefighters, and injured some 200 others.

Firefighters put out the blaze at the depot in Sitakunda, on Wednesday, four days after it began late on Saturday, triggering a series of explosions.

On Thursday, the investigation was opened on officials who were directly involved in operating the BM Container Depot on suspicion of negligence and mismanagement.

Senior police official Ashraful Karim said no one has been arrested yet. The owners are not under police investigation as two probe committees are looking into the matter.

Authorities have not determined the cause of the disaster but they suspect a container of hydrogen peroxide was the cause.

The owners of the depot were quoted on Tuesday in Bangladesh newspapers as saying hydrogen peroxide was being exported through the depot following due process with the permission of the concerned authorities.

Linked to the case, the death toll has risen to 44 after a worker from the depot died from his injuries on Wednesday. Of the 200 injured pictures, 50 were rescue officials.