Smoke still coming out of third floor
Smoke could still be seen coming out of the third-floor shops of the Dhaka New Supermarket this afternoon, more than five hours after a fire had been brought under control this morning.
The third-floor shops sustained significant damage from a fire that broke out at 5:40am and was brought under control at 9:10am by 30 firefighting units and teams from army, navy and air force.
Just a few days before Eid, the fire has inflicted huge losses for traders.
This correspondent went to the area and found that some of the affected businessmen were able to move their goods to a safe area as clothing and other items were being thrown out of the third-floor window onto the street.
Fire service vehicles were parked around the market, and the entire road was submerged in water used for putting out the fire.
There was a huge crowd, including distraught traders who were sitting in front of the market.
Additionally, shop owners from nearby markets also brought their goods out on the street fearing a similar fire.
At 3:30am last night, Azad Hossain, the owner of a store that sells shirts and pants, had shut shop and left for home. News of the shop's fire broke later in the morning.
When Azad arrived on the scene, he noticed that the third floor, where his shop's clothes valued at Tk 12 lakh were kept, was on fire.
He found out that half of his shop's goods had burned and the other half was damaged.
Another shop owner, Gias Uddin, expressed his sorrow by saying, "It's such a huge loss. We are currently removing the last of the Eid-related panjabis that have not yet been sold."
An employee, Abdullah, described his experience, claiming that the thick smoke made it impossible for him to even approach the shop front and that it hurt his eyes just to look at it.
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