16 killed, scores injured in depot blast

At least 16 people have been killed and hundreds reported injured in an explosion in Bangladesh

At least 16 people have been killed and hundreds reported injured in an explosion at a depot in a south-eastern town in Bangladesh, Qazet.az reports according to officials.

The explosion happened after firefighters were called to put out a fire at a container storage facility in the town of Sitakunda.

Twenty of the injured are in critical condition with burns covering 60-90% of their bodies, a doctor at a hospital treating the injured told AFP.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Some of the containers at the depot are believed to have stored chemicals.

The blast reportedly shattered the windows of several buildings nearby and was felt from areas as far as 4km away, according to local news outlet Prothomalo.

The town is only 40km from the country's second-largest city, Chittagong, and one of the city's hospitals has been inundated with victims. The injured include depot workers as well as fire-fighters and police, according to local media.

Several hours after the blast, fire-fighters were still attempting to extinguish the fire on Sunday morning.