Firefighters have been unable to extinguish a fire caused by gas emerging from underground during the installation of a deep tube well at a homestead in Inani, Ukhiya, even after 16 hours, as a two-member Bapex team warned against forcibly putting out the flames.
The Bapex team inspected the site on Tuesday night. SM Nafifun Arham, Bapex manager and head of its geological survey team, said the fire should be allowed to burn until the gas in the underground layer is exhausted.
“The fire will go out on its own once the gas in this layer runs out. If anyone tries to extinguish it forcibly, the fire could spread underground,” he said.
He said an area extending approximately 200 metres around the site should be isolated, with no settlements or public gatherings allowed there. He added that further measures would be taken after the fire went out.
Four Fire Service and Civil Defence units reached the site in the morning and began efforts to contain the blaze after receiving reports of the incident. However, the fire remained uncontrolled as of 10:30 pm. Local residents said gas emissions from the well had increased by the evening compared with the morning.
The fire broke out around 6:00 am on Tuesday, October 27, while workers dug the ground to install a tube well at a homestead near the small bridge in Inani, Jaliapalong Union, said Saidul Islam, station officer at the Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence station.
Quoting local residents, he said workers were installing a deep tube well at the homestead of a local resident, Mohammad Abdullah, in Chhoto Inani when foul-smelling gas suddenly emerged from the ground and caught fire.
“Four Fire Service units are working to contain the blaze, but it has not yet been brought under control. The incident has been reported to the Fire Service headquarters,” Saidul Islam said.
The expanding fire has sparked concern among local residents.
Meanwhile, electricity supply along an approximately 15-kilometre stretch of the 33-kilovolt Monkhali–Patuartek power line has been temporarily suspended because of fears that the flames could reach electrical wires and cause the fire to spread, Ukhiya Palli Bidyut Samity said.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Photo: Collected
