'100,000 tonnes of raw sugar gutted in S Alam refinery fire'

Around 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar, estimated to be worth Tk1,000 crore, was reportedly gutted in the fire that broke out at the warehouse of S Alam Refined Sugar Industries in Isanagar area of Karnaphuli upazila in Chattogram.

Subrata Kumar Bhowmik, executive director of S Alam Group, claimed that there was 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar imported from Brazil in the warehouse and those were gutted in the fire.

Abdul Malek, assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the 10,000 square feet warehouse of the refinery lacked any fire safety system.

"As a result, the blaze spread quickly and engulfed the entire warehouse, which is full of raw sugar and other materials," he added.

The fire started at 3:55pm on Monday and 14 units of firefighters were deployed to douse the flame.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard and the Bangladesh Air Force joined the firefighting operation around 7:45pm.

A team of Bangladesh Navy also joined their hands with fire service men.

Shoaib Hossain Munshi, warehouse inspector of Karnaphuli Fire Station, said, "It is not yet known how the fire started. Details will be known after an investigation."

He also said no loss of life has been reported yet but extensive damage has been done.

The firefighters managed to limit the fire till filing the report at 10:30pm. However, they said it will take time to fully extinguish the fire.

Plant-1 has a production capacity of 900 tonnes per day, while Plant-2 can produce up to 1,600 tonnes daily. The factory operates with technology and technical support from Thailand and France.