At least 15 buses have been gutted after a fire broke out at a Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) depot at the Joar Sahara centre in Dhaka’s Khilkhet area.
The incident took place at the depot near Airport Road in the early hours of Saturday, just one week before Eid-ul-Fitr.
Mohammad Moniruzzaman, manager of Joar Sahara depot of BRTC, said the fire erupted around 1:30 am on Saturday while the workers were working on the night shift.
The blaze was reported and several fire service units were dispatched to fight the blaze but could not begin to douse the fire immediately due to a lack of water, he said.
Later the blaze was brought under control using the water from another pump near the depot.
Of the 15 buses, eight were out-of-order. Four double-deckers, two single-deckers and one minibus, were completely burned, said Moniruzzaman.
Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary Md Nazrul Islam, BRTC Chairman Farid Ahmed Bhuiyan and other officials have visited the spot after the incident.
Secretary Md Nazrul Islam said a probe team, led by additional secretary, has been formed to investigate the incident.
“The origin of the fire could not be identified immediately. The people who were present on the spot could not say what started the fire,” Islam said, bdnews24 reported.
But the fire service says an initial investigation suggests the fire may have been caused by a short circuit in one of the vehicles.