A massive fire broke out early Tuesday morning in a shopping complex in the Banga Bazar Area of Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh.
The fire quickly spread to neighboring outlets before firefighters and army personnel arrived to extinguish it.
According to fire official Rashid Bin Khalid, most of the 5,000 stores in the complex were burnt to the ground in the blaze.
Shocking images from the scene showed black smoke billowing from the burning complex.
Bystanders, including children, formed a human chain to pass plastic containers of water to help responders.
Several firefighters were injured during the incident, with two of them in critical condition, according to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Brigadier General Main Uddin.
Uddin also pointed out that his department had declared the market and surrounding buildings “risky” in 2019, but businesses did not heed the warnings. It is unclear whether The department took any further action to ensure compliance with fire safety regulations beyond issuing the warnings.
To note, the complex, which hosts around 3,000 shops, is known for its cloth markets, and many of the shops were fully stocked ahead of the upcoming Festival of Eid al-Fitr later this month.
Meanwhile, a committee will be formed to investigate the cause of the fire.
