By: Siam Sarower Jamil
Dhaka, Mar 1:
At least 43 people have died and 22 injured in a fire that broke out in a multi-storey building in the capital’s Baily Road area. The death-toll is feared to rise as some of the injured are in critical conditions and some casualties may remain unattended on the site.
The fire originated in the seven-storey building around 9:45 pm on Thursday. On information, 13 units of Fire Service rushed to the spot and managed to bring the flame under control around 11:50 pm.
They brought the victims out of the building and took them to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told the newsmen around 2:00 am that at least 43 people died in the incident and that the bodies were kept at the two hospitals. He feared that there might be some more fatalities beyond the count.
Regarding the injured, the health minister said 14 are receiving treatment in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while eight others in the burn and plastic surgery institute. They all are in critical health conditions.
Around half an hour later, the inspector general of police (IGP), Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, visited the medical college hospital and briefed the media that they learned about 44 deaths in total, including one in the Central Police Hospital at Rajarbagh.