"Fire! Fire!"

They heard. Some of them were having dinner with friends and family, while others were shopping. Everything changed within seconds.

There were no fire exits. Many took to the only staircase to flee the raging inferno, but the stairs were already engulfed in flames. To make things worse, there were gas cylinders scattered across the ground floor, making it a ticking time bomb.

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So, they decided to go towards the rooftop. The flames followed. In the meantime, people were jumping off the building, taking their chance with fate over the risk of literally being burned alive.

To describe the situation, one may use the words "apocalyptic" or "dystopian".

At least 46 people were killed and 22 critically injured in a fire that broke out at a Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall Thursday night.

The survivors lived to tell the story, with the burden of dealing with a trauma that would probably last a lifetime.

Faridul Islam crawled up through the staircases, using his clothes to shield his eyes from the heavy smoke, and reached the rooftop.

"Due to smoke, we couldn't go downstairs. Using clothes to shield our eyes, we crawled up the staircase, eventually reaching the rooftop. Despite witnessing others jumping from the building, I refrained myself," he told this newspaper.

Firefighters later rescued Faridul and several others.

TRAPPED IN WASHROOM

Businessman Mehdi Hasan was in the building to attend a get-together with his China-return friend Fardin Abrar at Khana's restaurant alongside his wife Umme Habiba.

Trapped by smoke, they sought refuge in a washroom, wetting their clothes for protection. "We thought it would be our last day. After around two hours, firefighters rescued us," he said.

FLAMES FOLLOWED

THEM TO THE ROOF

Johirul Islam, a chef at Zesty restaurant within the building, said, "Because of the smoke, I couldn't go down and went to the rooftop using the stair railing."

"Initially feeling safe, we later found out the fire had reached the top floor. We took refuge at the back of the restaurant on the roof and were eventually rescued by fire officials who broke through the restaurant wall," he recounted.

When asked about the cylinder storage, he mentioned they stored them on the ground floor along with cylinders from other restaurants.

Shakhawat Hossain, a chef on the fourth floor of the restaurant, saw smoke entering the kitchen as he was closing. He quickly went to the rooftop where he lived, finding others already there. However, smoke soon filled his room. With no escape, he attempted to descend using a plastic pipe but got stuck at the fourth-floor air conditioner for about 20 minutes. Eventually, a young boy from a nearby building threw another pipe, allowing him to climb down to the second floor and then use the building's pipe to reach safety.

At least a dozen others this newspaper talked to recalled similar details.