Khawaja Tower Fire: ‘The help that didn’t arrive’

Aklima Akter, 33, worked on the ninth floor Khawaja Tower, a 14-storey commercial building located on Bir Uttam AK Khandaker Road in Dhaka's Mohakhali, which was engulfed by a devastating fire on Thursday afternoon.

As the fire started to rage through the building, Aklima was frantically calling her family members for help.

Obaidur Rahman, brother of Aklima, said, "We were continuously informing the fire service officials about my sister's situation in the building. We specifically informed them about where my sister could be found. However, we did not get any positive response from them."

According to Obaidur, he insisted the firemen on rescuing his sister but they told him to enter the building with them. He also said there were other firemen inside the building. They were waiting in the staircase. So, he went looking for his sister by himself after taking permission from a fire official.

He searched the floors (eight to 11) for her using flashlight of his mobile phone. He found a body on the 11th floor. It was his sister's.

"Her body was not burnt and it seemed she died by inhaling smoke," said a weeping Obaidur.

Contacted, Lt Col Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (operations and maintenance) of fire service, said, "Aklima's brother was not supposed to enter the building. Even fire service personnel were unable to access the building as it was engulfed in fire and black fumes."

"We tried our best… There were multiple factors beyond our control."

Samiul Islam, son of Rafiqul Islam, an engineer who worked in one of the IT firms housed in the building also said a fast and timely rescue operation could have saved his father's life.

"The fire broke out before 5:00pm. After my father called us for help, we informed the fire service about his location, but we did not get any help," said Samiul.

According to Samiul, they saw his father walking and looking for help through the building's window even at 8:30pm.

"The fire service could not rescue my father even three hours after the incident although they knew where he was," said Samiul.

Three people have been killed by the fire and 10 were rescued.

According to relatives of the deceased, the fire service officials were informed about the locations of the trapped persons as soon as they reached the spot. They could have rescued them by breaking into the building, alleged family members.

Contacted, Ershad Hossain, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said, "The fire was completely doused at 8:45am today (October 27). After finishing the rescue operation, we handed over the building to the local police and building authority."

"We have formed a five-member probe committee to identify the cause of fire and assess the damage," he added.

Mostafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station, said, "Our team has been guarding the site to prevent theft and any form of unauthorised entry. Some of the companies have already started shifting their equipment from the building."