Death toll from Bangladesh depot fire hits 34: chief regional doctor

CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH: The death toll from a fire and explosion at a container depot in Bangladesh hit 34 on Sunday and was expected to rise further with more than 300 people injured, the chief regional doctor said.

"The death toll from the fire has risen to 34," Elias Chowdhury, chief doctor of the Chittagong region in southern Bangladesh, told AFP as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. "More than 300 people are injured."

The fire broke out on Saturday at around 9.30 pm (1530 GMT) at the container storage facility in Sitakunda, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the major southern port of Chittagong.

Around an hour later, hundreds of people were attempting to douse the blaze when a number of containers holding chemicals exploded, the fire brigade told reporters.

Eyewitnesses said the blast engulfed people who had been battling the fire and shook residential buildings several kilometres away.

The injured included at least 40 firefighters and 10 police officers, Chittagong regional police chief Anwar Hossain told AFP.