Lack of logistics delayed rescue operation
It took around one and a half hours to start the rescue operation for the MV Abhijan-10 launch fire. Fire Service and Civil Defence sources said although they had come to know of the fire within 15 minutes of its origination, they lacked the logistics required to fight it in the water on a cold winter night.
The harrowing accident occurred in the early hours of December 24 in Sugandha river under Jhalakathi Sadar upazila. The fire burnt 46 passengers to death, while several dozens remain missing.
To fight such a fire hazard, divers, rescue speed boats and a vessel known as "Agnighatak", capable of putting out the fire, is a must, but firefighters in Jhalakathi had access to none of them, as there is no river fire station in the district or neighbouring Pirojpur. Moreover, there are only four divers -- two in Barishal and two in Patuakhali -- to cover the 10 districts of Barishal and Dhaka divisions.
After coming to know of the incident, firefighters first went to Char Bhatarakanda village, where the launch was pulled in by one of their rescue vehicles. Lacking necessary equipment, they waited until they could manage a motorised trawler. But it was too little, too late.
Syed Sharafat Ali, former station officer of Barishal River Fire Station, said without rescue speed boats, well-equipped divers and agnighataks, rescue operations are impossible in water.
Md Belal Uddin, sub-assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, said it's difficult for them to cover ten districts alone. Although there's a river fire station in Patuakhali, it suffers from logistical and human resource crises.
"For districts that host rivers, a hybrid of land and river fire stations can fill this resource vacuum."
Contacted, Kabad Ali Sarker, assistant director of Barishal Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the launch fire tragedy was first of its kind for the area, which has alarmed everyone of the need for river fire stations.
"We will relay the matter to higher authorities formally," he said.
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