National
5 years ago

Chattogram slum fire claims nine lives

A fire fighter working to extinguish fire at a slum in Chattogram on Sunday. -Reuters Photo
A fire fighter working to extinguish fire at a slum in Chattogram on Sunday. -Reuters Photo

Published :

Updated :

At least nine people, including seven members of two families, died after a fire swept through more than 200 slum dwellings in Chattogram in the early hours of Sunday.

Seven of the nine deceased were identified as Rahima Begum, 60, her daughter Nazma, 16; Zakir Hossain, 8, Nasrin, 4, Hasina, 35, Ayesha, 37, and Sohagh, 19.

Police and fire fighters said, more than 50 other people were also injured in the fire incident that broke out at Bheramarket slum in Chaktai area, report BBC, UNB and bdnews24.com.

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Elius Hossain said the fire broke out at the slum around 3:00am from an electric short-circuit.

Eight fire-fighting units arrived at the scene at around 3:30 am and managed to put out the blaze around 5:00am, said Chattogram Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Jashim Uddin.

Later, fire service personnel recovered eight charred bodies from the debris. Another charred body of a minor was recovered around 10:30am.

The district administration announced to provide Tk 20,000 for the burial services of the deceased.

A four-member committee led by an additional district magistrate was formed to investigate the cause of the fire.

Share this news