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Firefighters brought a devastating fire in the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, under full control on Sunday morning, more than 24 hours after it broke out.
The fire caused damages to four acres of the forest, the country's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, forest officials said.
A three-member body, headed by Dipen Chandra Das, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of Chandpai Range in the Sundarbans East Division, was formed and asked to submit a report within seven working days, said Kazi Muhammad Nurul Karim, Divisional Forest Official (DFO) of Sundarbans East Division.
The probe body also includes Bipuleshwar Chandra Das, an officer of Dhansagar Station, and Md Rafiqul Islam, in-charge of Kolomteji Patrol Outpost, UNB reports.
DFO Nurul Karim said forest officials and local villagers worked tirelessly throughout Saturday night to extinguish the fire by using water from the Bhola River to douse the flames, with firefighters joining them on Sunday morning around 8:00 am.
A pipeline was set up to transport water from the Bhola River and the fire is now under control, the forest official said, adding that smoke can still be seen in some areas,
By 11:30 am on Sunday, there were no visible flames in the forest area, he said.
He informed that following recommendations from an earlier investigation into the Sundarbans fire on May 4, 2024, authorities had halted permission for honey collectors in Compartments 24, 25, and 27.
But this year, the honey collection season is set to begin on April 1.
The DFO suspected that illegal honey collectors might have entered the forest before the season officially began and the fire could have originated from their torches or discarded cigarette butts.
Besides, herders who illegally bring their livestock into the Sundarbans by crossing the Bhola River might have also been responsible, as their discarded cigarettes could have sparked the fire, he suspected.
ACF Dipen said that a fire-line spanning 1.5 kilometres was created in the affected area to prevent the flames from spreading further. The fire is now under full control, with only minor damages being reported to Balla and Nal forests.
Aftab-e-Alam, officer-in-charge of Sarankhola Fire Station in Bagerhat, said that the fire is almost fully extinguished, with about 90 per cent of it put out by 11:30 am on Sunday.
No flames were visible, though occasional smoke was seen, prompting immediate water spraying, he said.
The fire service official said that three fire units from Bagerhat Sadar, Morrelganj, and Sarankhola, along with forest officials and local villagers, were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.
The exact cause and extent of the damage will be determined once the Forest Department releases its investigation report, he said.
Besides, some firefighters have been dispatched to the Gulisakhali area of the forest after receiving reports of another fire incident on Sunday morning.
The fire broke out around 7:00 am on Saturday in the Taper Beel area of Kolomteji Camp under the Dhansagar Station in the Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans East Zone.
This marks the 29th fire incident in the Sundarbans over the past 19 years. The last major fire occurred on May 4, 2024. Over time, nearly 85 acres of forest land in the Sundarbans have been destroyed by fires.