A blaze in the hundreds of years old Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka has so far claimed the lives of at least 70 people. Firefighters had to work for more than three hours to bring the blaze under control and it took another three hours to completely douse it.

The narrow alleys and the shortage of water in the area were the major hurdles the firefighters faced while dousing the blaze which broke out at a chemical warehouse last night, said Major AKM Shakil Newaz, Director (operations and maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil Defence.

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Chawkbazar fire: Rescue called off; death toll 70

This whole fire incident was in a multi-hazardous zone, he said adding there were transformers, cars with flammable cylinder bottles and a lot of chemical liquids which catch fire easily.

They had to collect water from the nearby mosque to douse the blaze. While the fire was brought under control around 3:00am, it took until 6:00am to completely ensure the fire was completely doused.

A total of 39 fire fighting units, with a manpower of 300 people worked relentlessly to bring the flames under control.

So far, 41 people have been rescued from the spot and 70 dead bodies were recovered, Major Shakil said.