Dhaka: A deadly fire on a seven-storey building killed at least 43 people in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka on Thursday night, Agence France-Presse reported.
Dozens were injured in the horrible accident, according to Bangladeshi health authorities.
Following a visit to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh’s health minister, Samanta Lal Sen, revealed the casualty to AFP. According to him, around 40 were being treated in the city’s main burn hospital.
According to the fire department, the fire originated from a popular biriyani restaurant in Dhaka’s Bailey Road around 9:50 pm on Thursday. The blaze spread to the upper floors rapidly, and people got trapped. It took the department two hours to bring the fire under control, and it rescued 75 people alive.
The building in question hosts restaurants, clothing shops and mobile phone shops.
One of those who were in the building said that they noticed the fire when they were on the sixth floor, and they used a water pipe to climb down the building. Some of them got injured after they jumped from upstairs.
One of those who were in the building said that they noticed the fire when they were on the sixth floor, and they used a water pipe to climb down the building. Some of them got injured after they jumped from upstairs.
One of those in the building informed on Facebook during the incident that fire services were there and they were rescuing women and children first. The men were huddled on the rooftop. The FB user was safely rescued later.
AFP reports that fires are common in apartment buildings and factory complexes in Bangladesh due to failure to adhere to safety rules. In July 2021, 52 people were killed in a fire in a food processing factory. The deaths included many children, too. Before that, it was in February 2019, a fire killed 70 people after the fire lashed through several apartment blocks.