Four-Hour Fire at Drug International Factory in Tongi Leaves Damage, No Reported Casualties

TONGI, Bangladesh — A fire at a pharmaceutical factory in Cherag Ali, Tongi, Gazipur, was brought under control Wednesday afternoon after nearly four hours of firefighting, triggering panic among workers but causing no reported casualties.

The fire broke out around 9:45 a.m. at Unit 2 of Drug International Ltd., according to fire service officials and factory workers. A total of 21 fire service units, along with army and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel, took part in the operation.

Workers said smoke spread rapidly through the building, obscuring visibility and prompting employees to flee. Several workers described struggling to escape through thick smoke.

“I thought it was the end for me. I feared I might not make it out alive,” worker Afroza Begum told Prothom Alo. She said the smoke darkened the surroundings and irritated her eyes.

Ruma Akter, who was working on the building’s fourth floor, said she noticed smoke spreading across the floor shortly after starting work. She and other workers ran downstairs, she said, adding that one colleague lost consciousness during the evacuation but was later rescued and had recovered.

Muslima Akter, a worker in the tablet section, said a colleague shouted that there was a fire, prompting several workers to leave immediately. Outside, she saw flames engulfing parts of the factory, she said.

Fire service personnel initially deployed 14 units, with additional teams joining as the blaze spread. A total of 21 units from Gazipur, Tongi, Uttara and nearby areas eventually took part in the operation. Army and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel joined the response around 1 p.m.

Brig. Gen. Sultanul Afreen Junaid, director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department, confirmed that the fire was under control by about 2 p.m. He said crews would continue dousing remaining hot spots and embers throughout Thursday.

Shaheen Alam, a senior station officer at Tongi Fire Service, said the building’s steel, aluminum and glass construction complicated firefighting efforts as the fire spread through different sections.

Cause remains unclear

The cause of the fire has not been established. Factory management suspects an electrical short circuit, while fire service officials said chemicals inside the building may have contributed to the blaze.

Shahidul Islam, a senior administrative official at Drug International Ltd., said about 200 workers were employed at the factory. He said workers noticed smoke coming from the fourth floor, after which an emergency alarm was sounded and employees evacuated the building.

Islam said the factory did not contain flammable materials and that an electrical short circuit was the suspected cause.

The fire service director general said investigators had requested relevant documents from the factory management and would examine whether adequate firefighting arrangements were in place.

The extent of damage to medicines, production equipment and other materials had not been determined by Wednesday afternoon.