Bangladesh Secretariat fire an accident or act of sabotage? Yunus govt says…

“Too early” to determine whether the fire that broke out in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday was a part of conspiracy or an act of sabotage, Muhammad Yunus-led interim government said.

A massive fire broke out at Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka in the early hours of Thursday (December 26). It took over six hours to bring the blaze under control.

“The fire service was notified at 1:52 am, and they began operations at 1:54am. The fire was completely brought under control at 8:05am,” Bangladesh’s Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, further informing that the blaze broke out on the fifth floor of the Building 7 around 1:50 am on Thursday before spreading on other floors upwards.

Security increased at Bangladesh Secretariat

Security was amped up in and around the Bangladesh Secretariat, with members of the armed forces, police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) deployed at various gates of the complex.

High-powered investigation committee constituted

Addressing media during a visit to the fire site, Jahangir said, “It is too early to determine whether the fire at Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat was part of a conspiracy or an act of sabotage.”

He further said that the cause of the fire could only be confirmed after a thorough investigation.

Jahangir further said that the formation of a high-powered investigation committee had been ordered to probe the incident.

Fire soon started to spread upwards

The fire caused significant damage to the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth floors of the building, a report by Dhaka Tribune quoted Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed Kamal as saying.

He further said that the flames had spread rapidly due to the electrical lines.

The fire service chief further said that firefighters were now entering various rooms in the building to ensure all remnants of the fire were extinguished.

One killed in Bangladesh Secretariat fire

Soon after receiving the message about the blaze at the Secretariat, around eight fire tenders were rushed to the site. More units joined them later and in all, a total of 19 firefighting vehicles were deployed to douse the flames.

However, a firefighter, identified as Sohanuzzaman Nayan, who was responding to a fire, died after being run over by a truck while crossing the road.

He sustained injuries after being hit by a truck while crossing the road to connect a line from a local water pump. He was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead. According to a report by Bangladesh-based media outlet Prothom Alo, Sohanuzzaman was working in the special unit of Tejgaon and was a resident of Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur.

Cause of fire at Bangladesh Secretariat

The origin of the fire could not be confirmed immediately, authorities said.

As per the website of the Cabinet Division, Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat houses various departments of the Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.

The fire disrupted traffic on the main road in front of the Secretariat, from Paltan to Zero Point. Fire tenders and other emergency response units occupied the area, with several ambulances kept on standby.

Also, a large number of onlookers congregated outside the Secretariat along with officials and staff who stood waiting, unable to enter their offices earlier.

However, controlled entry at the Bangladesh Secretariat resumed on Thursday morning under tight security measures.

Gate No 5 of the Secretariat was reopened, allowing officials and staff to enter one at a time.

  firstpost with inputs from agencies.