Dhaka airport fire: Smoke persists, efforts on to douse flames
Smoke continued to billow from the remains of the cargo village at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka nearly 22 hours after a massive fire raged through the facility yesterday.
By around 12:00pm today, smoke was still rising from the charred structure as firefighters continued spraying water to douse the lingering flames.
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"The fire has not been fully extinguished yet, which is why smoke is still coming out," said Rafi Al Faruk, duty officer at the control room of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters.
"Twenty-two units of firefighters are working to douse the fire while also carrying out search operations," he added.
Since morning, victims and curious onlookers have gathered near the cargo complex to witness the aftermath of the devastating blaze. However, law enforcement personnel are not allowing anyone to enter the restricted area.
The massive fire, which started around 2:30pm yesterday, burned goods stored at the facility, disrupting flights, causing long delays and diversions. Thick black smoke engulfed the airport and surrounding areas, visible from afar for hours.
By 9:18pm, the Fire Service announced that the flames had been brought under control. Around the same time, airport authorities said flight operations -- including the return of flights diverted to other airports -- had resumed.
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