Fire at Hazrat Shahjalal airport
Accidents can and do happen without warning even in airports. But the backdrop in which the most important airport of the country suffered an outbreak of fire that gutted a number of rooms and took 90 minutes to bring under control raises some questions. Given the all too known issues regarding maintenance and upkeep of our airport, questions regarding whether the accident was preventable are bound to come up.
This has happened at a time when thousands of would-be Hajj pilgrims are gathered at the airport who had to vacate the premises and stand under the open sky. A number of flights had to be cancelled and the tailback on the road to the airport extended all the way to Khilkhet area which caused a lot of trouble for thousands of commuters.
We are informed by authorities that a probe committee has been formed and a report will be furnished within a week. We commend the fire service units for containing the fire and that loss of life could be avoided. Since such an incident has occurred we should go back to the drawing board and check all electric connections and wiring in the building. Furthermore the question of whether the fire fighting equipment and readiness of personnel stationed inside the airport also need to be reviewed since the fire apparently broke out at an airline office on the 2nd floor and the question is whether it could have been contained there. We are sure the probe committee will do its part in finding the deficits in the building with regards to fire fighting readiness and remedial measures must be taken immediately so that such an incident is not allowed to happen again.
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