Disasters & Accidents

Massive fire engulfs popular clothing market in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Apr 4 (EFE).- A massive fire engulfed one of the largest marketplaces popular for cheaper clothes in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday, gutting dozens of shops, officials said.

Fire officer Lima Khan told EFE that the fire broke out at the Bangabazar shopping complex around 6 am and spread quickly in surrounding areas.

“Our 50 units rushed to the spot but the fire was yet to come under control,” Khan said.

There was no report of any causality.

The Bangladesh armed forces said the army and the air force joined the firefighters in controlling the flames.

Local TV channels showed many shopkeepers mourning the losses as the fire turned them into a pauper overnight ahead of peak business season during the Eid-ul Fitr festival.

The marketplace in the old Dhaka neighborhood is one of the biggest in the country that houses clothing stores made of tin and wood.

The dilapidated market was rebuilt after a fire destroyed it in 1995.

Fires and industrial accidents are common in Bangladesh, a country with poor security measures, where such incidents often result in high death tolls.

A large fire devastated a third of the family settlements in one of the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh last month, leaving 12,000 members of this displaced community without shelter.

In June last year, an explosion and the subsequent fire at a container depot in southeastern Bangladesh killed 41 people and wounded over 200. EFE

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