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Thursday, March 28, 2019, 21:35
High-rise office building catches fire in Bangladesh, 7 dead
By Agencies
Thursday, March 28, 2019, 21:35 By Agencies

A firefighter works to douse a fire in a multi-storied office building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 28, 2019. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP)

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A fire in a high-rise office building in Bangladesh's capital on Thursday killed seven people and injured at least 28 others, police said.

Many people were trapped inside the building, but fire officials said after battling the blaze for several hours that most had been rescued.

READ MORE: Fire guts ancient part of Bangladesh's capital, killing 81

"The situation is under control," said Debashish Bardhan, a Fire Service and Civil Defense deputy director.    

An AFP graphic shows a map of Bangladesh locating Dhaka, where a huge blaze broke out in a 19-story building on March 28, 2019.

The fire at the FR Tower, located on a busy avenue in Dhaka's Banani commercial district, was the latest in a city where flouted building regulations and safety norms have made deadly blazes common.

Banani police chief Forman Ali told reporters that seven people including a Sri Lankan had died and at least 28 others were injured.

A Facebook Live video taken by Roy Pinaki showed five people climbing down from windows while burnt building materials fell around them. One person slipped from what appeared to be a rope that people were using to escape, bounced off utility wires and fell to the ground.

ALSO READ: Bangladesh factory fire toll rises to 31

Locals help firefighters douse a fire in a multi-storied office building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 28, 2019. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP)

One man who tried to escape by descending from a rope fell,a Reuters witness said.

The blaze comes a month after a massive inferno killed 71people in an old neighborhood of the city. Critics at the time blamed poor enforcement of safety regulations in one of the world's most densely packed cities.


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