A fire broke out in a seven-story building in an upscale residential area of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens more.
“So far, 43 people have died in the fire,” Bangladesh Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said late Thursday after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the adjoining burn hospital.
Sen said a further 22 people were being treated for severe burns and were in critical condition.
Fire official Mohammad Shihab said the fire broke out at a popular biryani restaurant on Bailey Road in Dhaka at 9:50pm on Thursday and quickly spread to the upper floors. He said many people were trapped. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
He said firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within two hours. Fire officials said they rescued 75 people alive.
Survivor Mohammad Altaf told reporters how he narrowly escaped the flames through a broken window. Two of his colleagues died.
“When the fire started in the front and the glass broke, the cashier and service person called everyone outside. But they both subsequently passed away. I went to the kitchen, broke the window and jumped out. I saved myself,” Altaf said.
Relatives of fire victims gathered at the hospital early Friday morning to receive the bodies of their loved ones, but some could be seen grieving outside the emergency department.
Many people with their families, including children, were dining in the building, which mainly houses a restaurant, as well as several clothing stores and a mobile phone store. Doctors said most of the deaths were due to suffocation, and some died by jumping from buildings.
“We were on the sixth floor when we first saw the smoke coming down the stairs. A lot of people ran up to the second floor. We used the water pipes to get down the building. Some people were injured by jumping from the floor,” said Sohel, a restaurant manager.
Some people were trapped on the roof and called for help.
“Alhamdulillah. We are sending all the women and children, including our wives and children. All of us men are on the roof. The fire department is standing next to us. 50 has not fallen yet.” wrote environmental science professor Kamruzzaman Majumdar in a Facebook post.
He was later rescued safely.
Brigadier General Main Uddin, director of Bangladesh Fire Department and Civil Defense, said the fire could have been caused by a gas leak or a stove. “It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders installed on each floor and on the stairs,” he told reporters.
A five-member committee was established to investigate the incident.
Fires in apartment buildings and industrial complexes are common in Bangladesh due to lax enforcement of safety rules.
In July 2021, a fire at a food processing factory killed at least 52 people, including many children.
In February 2019, inferno struck multiple apartment blocks in Dhaka, killing 70 people.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report
