Bangladesh lost a major source of gas after a terminal fire. Households and drivers are paying the price.

Households and drivers are facing severe gas shortages after a fire halted supplies from the Matarbari floating liquefied natural gas terminal.

A short circuit caused the fire Tuesday, July 21, stopping the terminal’s daily supply of about 450 million cubic feet. Bangladesh normally receives about 2.65 billion cubic feet of gas a day.

Residents said gas is unavailable during the day, briefly returning after midnight before disappearing again around 6 or 7 a.m.

“The situation is such that you cannot even fry an egg,” one resident said.

Low pressure has also forced many compressed natural gas stations in Dhaka to close. Drivers at operating stations reported waiting four to seven hours without fully filling their tanks.

“We drive for 10 to 12 hours, but six or seven hours are spent waiting in line,” one driver said. “How will we drive, pay the vehicle owner and feed ourselves?”