At least 87 shanties and 14 shops were gutted in a devastating fire that broke out at a slum in Baunia Beribadh area of Dhaka’s Mirpur early today.
At least 30 people suffered minor injuries while they were trying to escape the fire that originated at a shanty in the slum beside Kalshi road around 12:45am.
Visiting the spot, Nadim Hossain, an official of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, said that at least 87 shanties and 14 shops were gutted in the massive fire.
Eleven units of firefighters brought the fire under control around 1:50am, said Ershad Hossain, a duty officer at Fire Service Civil Defence Headquarters.
On information, five fire-fighting units rushed to the spot to douse the blaze and six more units of firefighters joined later, he added.
Two livestock animals were also burned to death in the fire, reports our staff correspondent from the spot.
The fire service officials suspected that the fire might have originated from an electric short circuit in the slum.
