Friday 19 / April / 2024
Dhaka: A massive fire in a crowded slum in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has destroyed thousands of homes and left at least 10,000 people homeless, officials have said.
The fire started on Friday in Dhaka's Mirpur neighbourhood and destroyed about 2,000 mostly tin homes, fire services official Ershad Hossain said.
Several people were injured but nobody was killed in the fire, authorities said.
Most of the homes were empty as people had left to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday with their families.
"Otherwise, the damage would have been bigger," local police chief Golam Rabbani said.
It took firefighters hours to get the blaze under control and at least 10,000 people were forced to look for shelter in crammed camps at nearby schools.
"We are providing them with food, water, mobile toilets, and electricity supply," municipal official Shafiul Azam said, adding that authorities were trying to find permanent accommodation.
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the blaze.
Fire disasters have regularly hit Bangladesh's major cities, killing hundreds of people in recent years.
At least 100 people have been killed so far this year in building fires across the densely populated metropolitan city.
In February, more than 70 people were killed a massive fire raced through several apartment buildings also used as chemical warehouses.
