At least 44 killed in building blaze

At least 44 people were killed and 22 others critically injured in a fire at a seven-storey building on Bailey Road in the capital last night.

The fire was first noticed on the ground floor of Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall around 9:50pm and it soon spread to the upper floors, witnesses said.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters early today that 33 people were pronounced dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 others at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

At least three children and 26 women were among the dead, said sources at the two facilities.

One other person was brought dead to the Central Police Hospital.

With the help of a crane, rescuers bring down women and children who got trapped inside the building. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Firefighters brought the flames under control after two hours of frantic efforts. Many were rescued, said Brig Gen Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence.

There were cooking gas tanks on almost every floor of the building, he said, adding that either a stove or a gas tank could have caused the fire.

He said many of the victims died of asphyxiation because of the smoke.

Thirteen fire engines and a team of Border Guard Bangladesh worked at the scene, said Talha Bin Zasim, a spokesperson of fire service.

Shampurna Roy and Sun Roy

There were only two lifts and a staircase in the building with no emergency exit, said a top fire service official.

As the fire spread, people jumped out of even third floor windows while many were seen crying for help on the sixth floor and the rooftop.

Bachchu Miah, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, said 10 people injured after jumping off the building were brought to the hospital.

The injured are Imran, 13, Shakil, 24, Ujjal, 23, Jobayer, 21, Omar Faruk, 43, Shakil, 22, Jewel, 30, Shezan, 22, Deen Islam, 30, and Iqbal Hossain, 24.

There were several clothing stores and restaurants including Kachchi Bhai, Khana's, and Pizza Inn at the building.

At Dhaka Medical College morgue, desperate family members gathered looking for their loved ones.  

Bashona Rani, a grandmother, was seen grieving after she found the bodies of her daughter Poppy Roy and grandchildren Shampurna Roy, 12, and Sun Roy, 8.

She asked a reporter for a pen and piece of paper. "Please let me write their names on papers and put them on the bodies so that I don't lose them among so many corpses."

She said, "I spent hours outside the burning building, hoping they would come out…"

Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun told reporters at the DMCH that police would try to handover the bodies to the families as early as possible.

Around 2:19am, the CID put crime scene tape around the building.

Fire service formed a probe committee to find the cause of the fire.