A massive fire started at a chemical warehouse and spread fire spread quickly at Chawkbazar in old Dhaka on Wednesday at 10.30pm. Till now have been killed and nearly 50 injured as many people were trapped, unable to escape the flames.
Hundreds of relatives of the victims crowded at the gate of the Dhaka Medical Colleges’ morgue, where bodies were being taken. The death toll is expected to rise.
The fire spread quickly, accelerated by highly-combustible stores of chemicals, perfumes and plastic granules stored on the sites. Witnesses and police said gas explosions helped fuel the blaze.
The centuries-old Chawkbazar also has narrow streets and buildings very close to each other. There are an estimated 1,000 chemical factories in the old city, 850 of which are illegal, according to the Bangladeshi environmentalist group Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba).
Bangladesh has a history of fatal building fires, especially in factories where safety and structural standards have long been found to be inadequate. The Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013 killed more than 1,100 workers and a fire in a garment factory in 2012 killed 112 people.
Two years ago, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon vowed the chemicals warehouses would be relocated from Old Dhaka, “but there has been little visible progress on the matter”
Now Bangladeshi authorities have promised to drive illegal chemical factories out of the capital, Dhaka, as they face questions over this fire explosion.
The deputy commissioner of Dhaka metropolitan police, Ibrahim Khan, said at least two cars and 10 cycle rickshaws were burned in the fire.
“The victims included passersby, some people who were eating food at a restaurant and some members of the bridal party,” he said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her shock over the tragedy and conveyed condolences. The government said it would provide financial aid to the victims and their families, with 100,000tk announced for the families of fatalities and 50,000tk for each injured person.
>Juthy Saha
At least 81 People Died and Many Injured in Dhaka Fire Blaze
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