Building fire in Dhaka claims 43 lives

A horrific fire that started late on Thursday night at a six-story commercial building on Baily Road in Dhaka claimed the lives of at least 43 persons.

According to Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen, of the fatalities, 33 passed away at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 10 at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

He continued by saying that around 22 victims with serious burns are fighting for their life.

Approximately 75 individuals, 42 of whom were unconscious, were pulled from the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall.

According to the Fire Service, the Green Cozy Cottage is home to a number of businesses, including the retailer Illiyeen’s outlet and the Kacchi Bhai biriyani shop.

Facebook users posted live footage of the building burning down, with spectators gathering outside.

In some of the footage, residents and firemen could be seen rescuing the individuals who were stuck within the structure.

After two hours, the fire that started at 9:50 p.m. was contained.

Along with five other employees, Mohammad Rashed, a fire service rescue worker, left the building via the rear entrance. They all made their way out of the structure using air leaping bags.

“At first, there was no fire; we only saw smoke,” related the experience of a security guard stationed in a nearby building. I heard a gas cylinder explode as I arrived at the building’s bottom level to investigate the situation, and the fire quickly spread to the building’s higher stories.

“The fire spread so quickly that the fire department had difficulty rescuing people.” Some climbed a rope to exit the building, but many suffered injuries in the process,” he said.

Ten to fifteen persons were brought to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery due to burn injuries they had sustained in the incident.

Together with the fire department, three paramilitary Bangladesh Ansar platoons and one highly trained Ansar Guard Battalion platoon have been sent to assist in the fire and rescue effort.

After being pulled out of the building at about 11:40 p.m., Santo Das informed IANS that he believed a cylinder blow may have started the fire. He works on the third story of the building at a restaurant.

Authorities from the Fire Service claimed that at least 19 individuals had been saved so far. Firefighters from around 12 units tried to put out the fire and conduct rescue efforts.