Man dies, 9 hurt as blast-hit building catches fire in Narayanganj

Several firefighting units put out the flames in a 100-year-old building in Nitaiganj, but the cause of the incident is yet to be identified

A fire sparked by an explosion in a building in Narayganj's Nitaiganj has left a man dead and nine others injured.

The incident occurred in the two-storey structure in Nitaiganj's Dalpatti around 9 am on Saturday, according to Fakhruddin Ahmed, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj fire service.

Aulad, a 40-year-old labourer, died in the incident, while the injured are in hospital care, said Anisur Rahman Molla, chief of Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station.

Six firefighting units doused the flames after one-and-a-half-hours of effort.

Several warehouses for rice, pulses, salt and other commodities were located in the building.

The fire service could not immediately determine the cause of the explosion.

The building, owned by Elias Dewan, the former president of the Narayanganj District Flour Mill Owners Association, is almost a hundred years old, according to Abdul Qadir, chief of the Nitaiganj Multilateral Association.

"The top floor of the building was declared abandoned for 10 years," he said.

District Police Superintendent Golam Mustafa Russell visited the scene shortly after 11 am.

“A dilapidated building caught fire after an explosion. The building's wall collapsed. One person died and nine others were injured.”

He added that the fire service and district police are working to identify the cause of the explosion.