Flights grounded after major fire at Dhaka airport

Flights from Bangladesh’s main airport were delayed or diverted after a massive fire broke out at the cargo terminal, officials said.

Fire Brigade and Civil Defense Media Cell official Talha Bin Zasim told Reuters on Saturday that 36 fire brigade units were working to extinguish the flames.

Operations at Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have been suspended and all aircraft are safe, airport official Masudul Hasan told reporters.

There is no information yet about what may have caused the fire.

Both domestic and international flights were affected.

An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Dhaka was diverted to Kolkata and an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates was sent to Chittagong.

Meanwhile, a Cathay Pacific flight departing from Hong Kong was seen circling in the sky after failing to land at Dhaka airport, officials said.

Land, naval and air forces joined the fire brigade to control the fire.

This is the third major fire reported in Bangladesh this week. At least 16 people were killed and others injured when a fire broke out at a garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Bangladesh on Tuesday. On Thursday, another fire broke out at a garment factory building in an export processing zone in Chittagong.