Three breathless hours on The Daily Star office roof

Reflecting on the ordeal, one of those stranded describes themselves as fortunate to have survived what could have been a “major disaster”

Journalists at the Dhaka office of English-language daily The Daily Star were trapped on the roof of the building for around three hours after it was attacked and set on fire following news of the death of Sharif Osman bin Hadi, one of them has told bdnews24.com.

The attack took place at the newspaper’s Karwan Bazar office after vandalism and arson at the nearby Prothom Alo building. According to the journalist, a phone call from outside warned staff that a crowd was moving towards The Daily Star premises.

Staff in the newsroom initially tried to make their way downstairs, but by that time a mob had reached the lower floors of the building, begun vandalising the property and later set parts of it on fire.

Unable to move down through heavy smoke, a group of journalists went up to the roof on the 9th floor. The journalist said there were 28 people there.

After some time, a canteen worker from the building climbed down using an external fire-exit ladder. Once on the ground, he was caught by the crowd and beaten. Following that incident, no one else attempted to use the ladder.

Firefighters later arrived and brought the fire on the lower floors under control. Four fire service personnel then went up to the roof to help evacuate those trapped. However, with vandalism continuing below, the journalists did not feel safe enough to come down, and the roof door was closed.

Fire service staff tried to reassure them, saying that Army personnel were present outside the building. But panic rose again when several attackers came up to the roof and began banging on the door. The firefighters on the roof were also alarmed.

The journalists attempted to barricade the door using plant pots from the roof while waiting for help.

Later, Editors’ Council President and New Age Editor Nurul Kabir, along with photographer Shahidul Alam, went to the front of the building in an attempt to calm the crowd. Nurul Kabir was later heckled.

According to the journalist, soldiers later allowed access through one side of a staircase, which the attackers used to enter the building and continue vandalism and looting.

During this time, the trapped Daily Star staff, both on the roof and inside the building, were escorted down a fire-exit staircase and taken out through the rear of the premises.

The evacuation was completed around 3:45am.

“We were lucky,” the journalist said. “We survived a major disaster. I don’t know where the country is heading.”