Bangladesh’s largest airport suspended all flights on Saturday, airport officials said, as firefighters tackled a large blaze at its cargo terminal.
The fire at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the capital, started around 2:30 p.m. local time, spreading thick black smoke that was visible miles from the site.
Some 36 firefighting units were deployed, according to Talha Bin Jashim, a fire service spokesman.
Members of the country’s air force, navy, border guards and army were assisting, a military public relations office said.
“We are now handling the emergency situation,” said a director at the airport, Wing Cmdr. Jakaria Mahbub. “I cannot say anything now about what has caused the fire.”
The airport blaze was the latest in a series of major fires that have left many Bangladeshis increasingly concerned about fire safety in the country.
Just this past week, at least 16 people were killed when a fire broke out at a chemical storage facility that later spread to a garment factory in Dhaka’s Mirpur neighborhood.
Another fire at a factory in Chattogram, Bangladesh’s second-largest city, burned a whole seven-story building. However, no were casualties reported.
All flights in and out of the Dhaka international airport were suspended until further notice, according to an assistant director there, Muhammad Kawsar Mahmud. Planes were being redirected to airports elsewhere in Bangladesh.
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