Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
The fire that engulfed the Green Cozy Cottage building in Dhaka’s Baily Road area housed several restaurants and shops. The fire broke out around 9:50 pm at a popular restaurant named 'Kacchi Bhai' on the building's first floor and quickly spread to the upper floors that had more restaurants and a garment shop, according to fire service officials.
Witnesses and officials said to escape the fire, people rushed to the upper floors. Many were rescued by firefighters using ladders, they added.
“It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases,” Fire Service DG Moin said. He believes the fire originated from a gas leak or stove. The building has only one exit - the staircases, according to him.
Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said around 2 am that 33 bodies were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 others to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Another victim died at the Police Hospital.
Fire officials said 75 people, including 42 in unconscious state, were taken out of the building. Thirteen fire service units were mobilised, the officials said.
There were no fire safety measures at the seven-storey shopping mall, authorities said, underlining that three notices were already served to the owners but no action was taken. Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brig Gen Md Main Uddin mentioned that one of the rooms where people took shelter during the fire had no windows.
Family members of a person stuck at a commercial complex reacts as firefighters try to rescue them. Doctors said some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and feared that the death toll could rise.
