Foreign Experts Called in to Probe Dhaka Airport Cargo Fire

Foreign experts from England, Australia, China, and Turkey have been invited to investigate a devastating fire at the Cargo Village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka.

Home Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced the invitation today, stating the goal is to determine the cause of the fire, identify responsible parties, and check for any potential mismanagement.

The fire, which broke out at the facility for imported goods around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, took nearly 27 hours to be brought under full control, finally being doused at 4:55 p.m. on Sunday. The airport was made operative within several hours at 9:00 p.m. Saturday.

Home Adviser Chowdhury defended the response time, stating the Civil Aviation's four firefighting engines arrived within 30 seconds, followed by Fire Service and Civil Defence teams within 20 minutes.

He attributed the fire's rapid spread and the extended dousing time to the presence of flammable materials at the site. While acknowledging the lengthy effort, he maintained that the teams did not fail, having successfully brought the blaze under control. Chowdhury also reiterated ongoing work to decrease passport fees for "remittance warriors."