The Economist headline: Bangladesh faces the fallout from another industrial accident
Subheadline: A patchy safety record gets even worse
When a fire broke out at the bm Inland Container Depot in Bangladesh on June 4th Oliur Rahman Nayan, a local worker, did what many young people would do: he took out his phone and started recording. Thousands watched his live-stream as containers full of clothes headed to the nearby port of Chattogram (formerly Chittagong), and then to Western high streets, went up in smoke. They followed along as firefighters tried to douse the flames. Then the screen went black.
Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android.
Listen to this story
Mr Nayan was dead, engulfed in an explosion that shook buildings miles away. More than 40 others, including nine firefighters, perished. Hundreds more were injured in the blaze. Many details are still unknown, but the picture emerging is painfully familiar in Bangladesh, where rapid industrial growth has been marred by periodic industrial accidents.
Days before the blast some 850 tonnes of hydrogen peroxide, a volatile chemical, were brought from a nearby plant to the depot, which does not seem to have had any special safety procedures for hazardous materials. Containers full of the stuff were left in the yard alongside other cargo, rather than in a separate shed, as they awaited shipment to Cambodia, according to the Business Standard, a Bangladeshi newspaper. The explosion occurred when a fire, whose cause is unclear, reached these containers, one of which was leaking.