A massive fire that ripped through a seven-storey shopping mall here overnight killed at least 46 people and injured 22 others, the government said on Friday, in one of the worst infernos to hit Bangladesh in recent years.
The fire on Thursday night that engulfed the Green Cozy Cottage building in the capital’s Baily Road area housed several restaurants and shops.
The fire broke out around 9:50 pm on Thursday at a popular restaurant named “Kacchi Bhai” on the building’s first floor and quickly spread to the upper floors that had more restaurants and a garment shop, according to fire service officials.
Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said around 2 am that 33 bodies were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 others to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Another victim died at the Police Hospital.
The condition of those injured is “critical”, he told reporters at a briefing.
“One more person died during treatment in the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical ICU this morning. A total of 46 people have died so far,” Sen said on Friday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is closely monitoring the fire incident at the commercial building, the Health Minister said.
A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
Fires in apartment buildings and factory complexes are common in Bangladesh due to lax enforcement of safety rules.
As many as 102 people were killed and 281 others sustained burn injuries in 27,624 fire incidents across the country in 2023, according to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters.
According to the Fire Service statistics, most of the fire incidents originated from electric short circuits, burning cigarettes, ovens and leakage of gas pipelines.
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.
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