Experts from 4 countries invited to investigate Dhaka airport fire: Adviser

Experts from four countries have been invited to investigate whether there was any mismanagement in the fire incident at the import section of the Cargo Village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Saturday.

“We have invited experts from four countries to investigate the fire incident. At first, England was invited and later, three other countries including Australia, Turkey and China were invited. They will come and determine the cause of the fire,” he said while speaking at a press conference held at the airport.

Replying to a question, the adviser said the airport fire service personnel did not fail in extinguishing the blaze. “If they had failed, how would they have extinguished the fire? If they hadn't acted, the fire would have spread everywhere,” he added.

Asking about why the fire service inside the airport could not arrive within five minutes, the adviser said, “The firefighting units inside the airport reached the scene within four minutes, while other firefighting units arrived in stages over the next 20 minutes. Because some teams arrived slightly late, the fire may have spread, which is why it took longer to bring it under control.”

Talking about the passport fees for expatriates, Adviser Jahangir Alam said negotiations are on how to reduce the passport fee for remittance workers.

The adviser also said that the presence of chemicals in the warehouses contributed to the delay in controlling the fire.

Earlier on October 18, a fire broke out at No 8 gate of the import cargo village inside Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The firefighters managed to extinguish the devastating fire nearly for 27 hours on the following day.