Thousands Flee as Fire Rages in Gas Field
Thousands of frightened villagers evacuated their homes in northeastern Bangladesh as firefighters struggled to control a blaze at a nearby gas field, officials said.
A hissing column of fire rose nearly 200 feet and spewed mud and rocks despite driving rain at the Tengratila Gas Field in Sunamganj district, a remote area about 110 miles northeast of the capital, Dhaka, said Kalim Uddin, a local lawmaker.
The fire broke out Friday when engineers of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Co. and Niko Resources Ltd., a Canadian exploration company, resumed drilling at Tengratila.
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