New York fire guts 30 shops, offices

A fire has gutted about 30 offices and shops owned by Bangladeshis in New York, the foreign ministry has said citing locals.

There have been no reports of causalities, however, it said in a media release.

The fire broke out at a commercial building at ‘Jackson Heights’, an area dominated by Bengalis, at about 6pm on Apr 21 New York time.

The third and fourth floor of the four-storey building have been “badly affected”, the foreign ministry said.

The fire-fighters brought the flames under control at around 11:30 pm. What caused the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Consul General Md. Shameem Ahsan along with other officials visited the place and spoke to the Bangladeshi community people.

According to the media release, they suspected that about 30 offices including tax or attorney, travel agency, and shops, owned by them, have been gutted, among others.

The foreign ministry, however, said actual damage “could not be ascertained immediately” as police cordoned off the area.