At least 10 people were injured and about 500 shanties were burnt in a fire that broke out at a slam at Rayerbazar in Dhaka on Thursday. Fire fighters put out the flames with the help of the local people in two hours and a half.
The slum dwellers said that the fire had originated from a shanty about 11:45am and it soon spread to 500 bordering shanties.
Nine fire engines from four stations contained the fire about 2:30pm. Fire service officials later in the evening said that the fire had originated from cooking stove.
The fire fighters found it difficult to work as there was no water source near by, the Fire Service and Civil Defence director general, Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah, told reporters during the rescue operation.
The fire damaged two under-construction buildings bordering the slum at Battala in Rayerbazar.
The fire officials said that the some of the people who became injured in rescue operation, had been sent to hospital.
Soon after the fire had been contained, the slum dwellers started searching their valuable in the rubble.
A victim, Furjan Begum, said that she had lost her valuables and the passport of her husband to the fire.
The extent of damage caused by the fire could go up to Tk 40 lakh, the fire officials said.
The state minister for LGRD and cooperatives, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, also the local lawmaker, visited the spot and assured the victims that of assistance.
-With New Age input
