Gas fire burns for 16 hours in Cox’s Bazar, power cut across 15km area l

A fire caused by gas escaping from underground during the installation of a deep tube well at a residential property in Inani, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, remained unextinguished even after 16 hours, despite efforts by firefighters.

A two-member Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) delegation visited the site at night. SM Nafifun Arham, BAPEX manager and head of the geological survey team, said the gas should be allowed to burn until the underground gas supply was exhausted.

He said the fire would go out on its own once the gas in the layer was depleted. Attempting to extinguish it forcibly could cause the fire to spread underground and lead to a major disaster.

He said an area extending 200 metres around the site should be isolated, with no settlements or public gatherings allowed there. Further measures would be taken after the fire went out, he added.

Meanwhile, four Fire Service units reached the site in the morning after receiving reports of the incident and began efforts to control the blaze. However, the fire had not been brought under control by 10:30pm, when this report was filed.

Local residents said the volume of gas escaping from deep underground had increased in the evening compared with the morning.

The incident occurred around 6am on Tuesday, October 27, when an automatic explosion triggered a fire as workers were digging the ground to install a tube well at a residential property near the Small Bridge in Inani, Jaliapalong Union, said Saidul Islam, station officer of the Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence station.

Quoting local residents, he said workers had been installing a deep tube well at the residence of a local man, Mohammad Abdullah, in the Small Inani area in the morning. At one stage, foul-smelling gas suddenly emerged from the tube well, and flames erupted immediately.

Saidul Islam said four Fire Service units were working to control the fire at the site, but it had not yet been brought under control. The Fire Service headquarters had been informed about the incident, he added.

Meanwhile, the intensity of the fire has sparked panic among local residents.

The Ukhiya Palli Bidyut Samity said electricity supply had been temporarily suspended along a stretch of around 15 kilometres, from Monkhali to Patuartek, on the 33-kilovolt power line because the flames could reach electrical wires and spread further.

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