A scrap-laden moving lorry caught fire on the Dhaka bound lane of Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sitakunda, Chittagong.

This caused severe traffic congestion, stretching several kilometers on both sides of the highway for an hour. Traffic gradually normalized after firefighters brought the blaze under control.

The incident took place around 6:00PM on Tuesday, July 28 near the Fakirhat-Kalushah Mazar overbridge area in the upazila.

According to eyewitnesses and the fire service, a lorry loaded with iron scrap was heading towards Dhaka from a scrap depot in Chittagong. When it reached the Kalushah Mazar overbridge area, smoke was suddenly seen billowing from the lorry’s engine cabin, and fire engulfed the entire cabin within moments.

To avoid any accidents, the Bar Auliya Highway Police immediately suspended traffic movement on the Dhaka-bound lane, creating long queues of vehicles stretching several kilometers on both sides of the highway.

Upon receiving the news, the fire service and police from Bar Auliya Highway Police Station rushed to the scene and began working to control the fire. The fire was completely brought under control by around 7:00PM after nearly an hour of effort. Subsequently, traffic movement was gradually normalized using one Dhaka-bound lane.

Bar Auliya Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ariful Amin said that the fire broke out in the scrap-laden lorry belonging to the Abul Khair Group due to a mechanical fault. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.

Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Fakhrul Islam stated that traffic movement was temporarily halted due to the fire on the lorry on the highway. Traffic has been normalized in phases after the fire was brought under control.