Seven die in Dhaka fire, rescue efforts on

At least seven people have died and about 50 others have been injured in a fire that engulfed FR Tower in Dhaka’s Banani.

The 23-floor building on Kemal Ataturk Avenue caught fire around 12:45pm on Thursday. Twenty-five units of the fire service brought the fire under control after four hours of efforts.

“We have received reports of seven deaths so far. But the death toll may rise,” Sayeedul Islam, the assistant commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s control room, told bdnews24.com

The bodies of three victims were at the United Hospital in Gulshan, said Gulshan Police OC Abu Bakar Siddiq. Another 17 injured victims have been admitted there.

The duty manager at United Hospital said that all three of the dead victims are males. Of them, one died of burn injuries while the others succumbed to other injuries. 

The body of another victim is being kept at the Apollo Hospital, Bhatara Police OC Kamruzzaman said. He was unable to provide further details.

Some of the injured have been admitted to the Kurmitola General Hospital, said a senior official of the hospital. 

Many jumped off the burning building to escape the fire.

Hospital authorities have identified one of the dead as a Sri Lankan national.

None of the victims admitted to the Kurmitola hospital were seriously burnt in the fire. The majority of the victims at the hospital were injured after jumping off the burning building or have fallen ill after inhaling the smoke. 

Meanwhile, five victims were rescued from FR Tower and rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. One of them was declared dead by doctors at the hospital’s burns unit. 

Shahbagh Police Inspector (Investigation) Arifur Rahman Sardar said that the deceased has been identified as the 30-year-old Abdullah Al Faroque, a former student of Dhaka University.

Samanto Lal Sen, the chief coordinator of the DMCH’s burns unit, said Faroque suffered 90 percent burns on his body.

Besides, Sri Lankan national Siri Indrika, 46, Abu Hossain, 35, Shabbir Ali Modhu, 25, and Rezwan Ahmed, 35, were admitted to the hospital with injuries. They all work in different offices in FR Tower.

Earlier, three Air Force helicopters joined 25 fire service units in their battle against the flames. Army and Navy teams also joined the rescue efforts.

A number of garment buying houses and internet service providers have their offices in the 22-floor building.

People trapped in the upper floors of the building have been breaking windows to call for help.

Mohiuddin was among the anxious crowd in front of the burning building. His brother, Motahar, who works in a buying house on the 14th floor, is trapped in the building with co-workers.

Others in the crowd have expressed grievances with the fire service’s efforts to douse the flames and said that the flames have intensified due to delays by fire service personnel in tackling it.

The building also houses the offices of different business firms, sales centres, restaurants and a convention centre. An estimate of the number of workers at these institutions has yet to emerge.

Shahjalal Islami Bank runs a branch on the building’s third floor. The office of the privately run Queens University is on the adjacent Awal Centre as worries grow about the risk of the fire spreading to adjacent buildings.

The fire service has yet to identify the cause of the fire.