Gazipur pharma fire causes Tk 300m loss, 7 hurt
Monday, 2 January 2012
GAZIPUR, Jan 1, (UNB): At least seven people were injured in a devastating fire which broke out at Virgo Pharmaceutical Ltd at Bhawal of Hatiar in Sadar Upazila Sunday.
Firefighters and management of the pharmaceutical claimed the loss caused by the fire would exceed Tk 300 million.
The fire originated from overheating of the blue room, which sparked an explosion at Dakline in its compressor machine late afternoon.
Injured factory workers Sabuj, (30), Nahid, (30), Al Amin, (25), Shahin, (24), Munna, (25), Mamun, (25), and Sohel, (25), were admitted to a local hospital and a clinic.
Chisti Khairul Anam, assistant to managing director of the pharma Maj Gen (Retd) Syed Safayet Ul Islam, claimed that preliminary estimation put the loss at Tk 0.3 billion which may go further up after reassessment.
Being informed, several fire fighting units from Gazipur rushed to the spot and doused the flame with the help of factory employees and locals.
Abu Zafar Ahmed, officer of Gazipur Fire Service Station, said several components of the factory, including fluid dyer, cutting section, multi-mill machines, compressors and blue room have been completely gutted.
The pharma has its own fire extinguishing system and the loss was minimised as the factory workers used fire control equipment in a bid to tame the flame soon after a Dakline explosion sparked the fire, he added.