The hearth gutted import cargo terminals areas at Dhaka airport, destroying an estimated $1bn of ‘pressing air shipments’.
Printed On 19 Oct 2025
A hearth that decimated a cargo complicated in Bangladesh’s largest airport has induced devastating losses to garment exporters in the course of the peak export season.
The blaze – which ripped by way of the cargo import space of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal Worldwide Airport on Saturday afternoon – gutted storage areas holding large portions of uncooked supplies, attire and product samples belonging to exporters.
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“We have now witnessed a devastating scene inside,” mentioned Faisal Samad, director of the Bangladesh Garment Producers and Exporters Affiliation (BGMEA).
“Your entire import part has been diminished to ashes,” he mentioned, estimating losses might attain as excessive as $1bn.
Smoke continued to rise from the charred stays of the ability on Sunday as firefighters and airport officers assessed the harm.
Among the many destroyed items are “pressing air shipments”, together with clothes, uncooked supplies, and product samples, added Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of BGMEA.
He warned that the lack of samples might jeopardise future enterprise within the nation’s essential garment trade, value $47bn per yr. “These samples are important for securing new consumers and increasing orders. Dropping them means our members might miss out on future alternatives,” he mentioned.
Reason for blaze unclear
The airport cargo village that caught fireplace is considered one of Bangladesh’s busiest logistics hubs, dealing with greater than 600 metric tons of dry cargo every day – a determine that doubles in the course of the October to December peak season.
“Day by day, round 200 to 250 factories ship their merchandise by air,” Khan mentioned. “On condition that scale, the monetary affect is critical.”
The reason for the blaze has not but been decided, and an investigation is underneath approach.
The incident marks the third main fireplace reported in Bangladesh this week. A hearth on Tuesday at a garment manufacturing facility and an adjoining chemical warehouse in Dhaka killed a minimum of 16 individuals and injured others. On Thursday, one other burned down a seven-storey garment manufacturing facility constructing in an export processing zone in Chittagong.
The federal government mentioned the safety companies had been investigating all incidents “totally”, and warned that “any credible proof of sabotage or arson shall be met with a swift and resolute response.”
“No act of criminality or provocation shall be allowed to disrupt public life or the political course of,” it mentioned, urging calm.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of attire after China. The sector, which supplies major global retailers reminiscent of Walmart, H&M and the Hole, employs about 4 million staff and generates greater than a tenth of the nation’s GDP.
The hearth is anticipated to delay shipments and pose extra challenges in assembly worldwide supply deadlines.
