Bangabazar burnt to the ground

GBNEWS24DESK//

A massive fire ripped through the capital’s Bangabazar Shopping Complex yesterday, burning down at least 2,931 shops full of clothes and ruining the livelihood of several thousand traders just weeks before Eid.

The fire, reported at 6:10am, spread rapidly in the crammed market while plumes of dark smoke blanketed the nearby neighbourhoods.

Goods stored in the adjacent Anexco Tower, Banga Islamia Market, and Banga Homeo Market were also gutted and a police barrack next to the Police Headquarters was damaged, firefighters said.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, but firefighters said faulty electric wires could be a reason.

Six firefighters were among the 16 injured from the fire and smoke.

The flames were under control by afternoon, but piles of clothes were still smouldering around 8:30pm, said Dino Moni Sharma, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defence.

Owned by Dhaka South City Corporation, the 21,250 square feet Bangabazar Shopping Complex consists of Bangabazar Market, Gulistan Market, Mohanagar Market, and Adarsha Market. The three storey markets are built with corrugated iron sheets and wood.

The disaster struck four years after the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence declared the shopping complex risky because of its lack of fire safety and asked people to be cautious.

Devastating fires gutted the shopping complex in 1995 and 2004.

Yesterday, the first team of firefighters reached the scene at 6:12am. As a morning breeze kept spreading the flames, more fire engines joined the efforts. Luckily, the fire service headquarters is close to the market.

After six and a half hours, the fire was brought under control by 48 fire engines, firefighting units of the army, navy, air force, and BGB.