Fire Destroys 18 Tonnes of Electric Equipment of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

A large number of electrical components imported from Russia for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant have been destroyed in the cargo village fire of Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday, according to sources at Momota Trading, the clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent responsible for releasing the goods.

The equipment was scheduled to be released from the cargo village today.

According to Momota Trading sources, about 18 tonnes of electrical equipment arrived six days ago in seven shipments from Russia, all of which were damaged in the fire.

An official from the company said, "We needed a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission to clear the goods.

"Due to delays in obtaining the NOC, the release could not be completed by Thursday. The items were scheduled to be released today, but the fire destroyed them before that could happen."

The fire broke out at around 2:30pm yesterday (18 October) in the cargo village building, near Gate No. 8, of the airport.

Thirty-seven firefighting units, along with members of the army, navy, air force and Border Guard Bangladesh, worked jointly to bring the blaze under control after nearly seven hours.

The fire service and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh confirmed that a large quantity of goods stored in the cargo village has been burnt, though the total extent of damage has not yet been determined.