Fire guts Korail slum, residents continue to lament

Fire Service has deployed 19 units to contain the fire

An inferno is raging through the Korail slum in Dhaka’s Mohakhali, with firefighters struggling to bring the blaze under control due to a shortage of water.

The Fire Service reported the incident at 5:22pm on Tuesday, after which 19 units were deployed to the scene.

Firefighters said traffic congestion initially delayed their arrival. Once at the scene, narrow alleyways forced them to leave the engines at a distance and drag long hoses through the lanes to reach the flames.

With a short supply of water, crew began pumping from a nearby canal beside Boubazar around 7:30pm in an effort to contain the fire.

The surrounding area has been overwhelmed by the cries of residents. Although no casualties have been reported, those living in the slum said they had “lost everything”.

Sumon Ahmed, a resident, said: “I was outside when the fire started. I ran back when I heard, but everything was already gone.”

His wife and two children managed to escape safely, but he said they could not bring anything with them.

Another resident, identified with a single name Fazlu, estimated that over 500 homes had been destroyed, leaving nothing intact in the affected area.

Saleha Begum could not stop wailing as she kept repeating, “How will I survive? Everything I had is gone.”

[More to follow]