Keraniganj building fire contained after 11 and a half hours

Large piles of flammable material made the operation more difficult and prolonged, firefighters say

The fire that broke out at a multi-storey building in Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka has been brought under control after more than 11 hours.

Fire Service spokesman Talha Bin Jashim said 20 firefighting units worked to bring the fire under control shortly after 5pm on Saturday.

The fire started around 5:30am on Saturday in the basement of Jabale Noor Tower in the Aganagar area.

Officials said the fire spread quickly in the basement, which contains a number of shops as well as scrap textile warehouses. Large piles of flammable material have made the operation more difficult and prolonged, according to the Fire Service.

Earlier, Fire Service media officer Shahjahan Sikder said the complex consists of several separate buildings sharing a single basement and is used for both commercial and residential purposes.

The first and second floors house garment shops and small scrap warehouses, with residential apartments above.

Due to heavy smoke, specialised units, including breathing apparatus and hazardous materials teams were brought in, he added.

The Fire Service received the first call about the incident at 5:37am and the first unit arrived within eight minutes. Units from Keraniganj, Sadarghat and Siddique Bazar fire stations have been deployed to tackle the fire.

At least 42 people were evacuated from the building in the morning, according to Fire Service media officer Anwarul Islam.

Three more people who had been trapped inside the building were rescued later in the day and were reported to be in good condition.

Anwarul said the basement stood beneath seven buildings, describing the site as “very complicated” with access available from only one side.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.