INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
At least 45 people have been killed and dozens injured after a fire blazed through a seven-storey building in an upmarket neighbourhood in
college hospital and an adjoining burns hospital.Sen said another 22 people were being treated for severe burns and were in critical
9.50pm Thursday (15.50GMT), and quickly spread to the upper floors, trapping scores of people
It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.View image in fullscreenBangladeshi firefighters rescue people who were trapped after
flames erupted in a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Photograph: Suvra Kanti Das/EPAFirefighters brought the blaze under control in two hours, he said
They rescued 75 people alive, a statement from the fire service said.Survivor Mohammad Altaf, speaking to reporters, recounted narrowly
escaping the blaze through a broken window
But both of them died later
early hours of Friday to receive the bodies of their loved ones, while some were seen grieving outside the emergency department.Many people
were dining with family members including children in the building that houses mostly restaurants along with several clothing and mobile
Most of the people who perished died from suffocation and some died as they jumped off the building, doctors said.View image in
fullscreenFirefighters use a fire ladder to rescue victims
A lot of people rushed upstairs
We used a water pipe to climb down the building
We are sending down all women and children including my wife and children
We all men are in rooftop
Fire service stands beside us
safely.Bangladesh fire service and civil defence director Brigadier General Main Uddin said the fire could have originated from a gas leak
formed to investigate the incident.Fires in apartment buildings and factory complexes are common in Bangladesh due to lax enforcement of
safety rules.In July 2021, at least 52 people including many children were killed when a fire swept through a food processing factory.In
February 2019, 70 people died when an inferno ripped through several Dhaka apartment blocks.Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
