Dhaka blaze kills 114, death toll set to rise

DHAKA: Bangladeshi rescue workers on Friday pulled more bodies out from the smouldering debris of buildings gutted by a fire that tore through a densely populated area of Dhaka, killing more than 110 people.

The deadliest fire in Bangladesh’s 39-year history raged for three hours late on Thursday night, destroying a row of multi-storey apartment buildings, one of which was hosting a packed wedding party.

“At least 114 people have died and rescue workers are still finding bodies,” the city’s district administrator Muhibul Haque said.

Dhaka fire department chief Abu Nayeem said the fire had been caused by an electrical fault.

Hundreds of people were trapped in burning buildings as rescue workers struggled to contain the blaze, their work hampered by the narrow lanes of the crowded residential area in Old Dhaka, the historic heart of the city.

At least seven buildings were engulfed, including a bakery with several large gas burners and a string of small shops selling chemicals, as well as cheap, plastic goods.

Witness Younus Haoladar, 38, said the fire had spread through a series of explosions triggered by the stored chemicals and other flammable materials.

“It was like a volcanic eruption - something like lava was running down the street,” Haoladar told AFP.

“I saw three of four people die in a matter of seconds and then, minutes later, an electrical transmitter exploded and the fire spread.”

Firefighter Abduh Momin said the chemical shops had “exploded like a bomb”.

“Drops of burning chemicals hit the surrounding buildings like shrapnel, spreading the blaze very quickly. Scores of people died before they had even realised what was happening,” Momin said.

More than 40 members of a wedding party were among the dead - a toll firefighters attributed to the fact that stoves for cooking the wedding banquet had exploded in the stairwells, cutting off any means of escape.

One witness said: “The bride was spared from the fire as she had been at the local beauty salon.”

Army medical teams were called in to help overwhelmed staff at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital - the country’s largest - where most of the victims, many with life-threatening injuries, were taken.

Hospital director Shamanto Lal Sen said they had tried to transfer stable patients elsewhere and focus on treating 50 critical cases.

All off-duty medical personnel were called in and by Friday morning, the wards and corridors of the hospital were overflowing with badly burned patients and weeping relatives.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was scheduled to visit the injured on Friday, announced a full investigation into the blaze.

Special prayers will be held across the country on Saturday, which has been declared a day of national mourning, said Amul Kalam Azad, the prime minister’s press secretary.

Fire chief Nayeem said initial efforts to stop the fire spreading had been hamstrung by the location and the choking, toxic smoke.

“The temperature and fumes became unbearable because of the chemicals,” he said.

“We struggled to get inside due to the narrow stairways of the very old buildings. It was almost impossible for us to get firefighting equipment into the area,” he added.

Fires due to short-circuits, substandard wiring and electrical faults are common in Bangladesh, where building regulations are rarely enforced.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2010.