Dhaka fire: Bangladesh high-rise building hit by deadly blaze lacked proper fire exits, official says
Senior minister describes blaze that killed 25 people as 'murder'
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Your support makes all the difference.A high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka where a fire killed 25 people lacked proper fire exits, government officials have said.
A senior minister described the blaze, which engulfed the ninth and 10th floors of the 22-storey building, as “murder”.
Authorities have launched an investigation into Thursday’s fire, in which at least seven people died after jumping from the FR Tower, an office building in the capital’s Banani business district.
“There were no proper fire exits in the building that houses many offices and several restaurants,” Julfikar Rahman, director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, said.
“It the building had proper fire exits, people would have been able to come out. There was little fire-fighting equipment in the building and it was not in working condition.”
The building’s two exits were only 2ft and 4ft wide, too narrow for people to leave smoothly, and were blocked by obstructions that made the task harder, he added.
The Dhaka development authority said it was investigating how the owner, who had permission only to build 18 stories, managed to extend them to 22.
Raising buildings beyond approved design is rampant in Bangladesh, where the government is seeking fast economic development and the private sector is expanding.
“It’s not an accident, it’s murder,” public works and housing minister Rezaul Karim told reporters after visiting the site, where firefighters combed through the ashes.
“Legal action will be taken against those responsible for violating the building code, no matter how powerful they are.”
Helicopters had joined 22 firefighting units in battling the fire, along with police and armed forces, as some of those trapped in the building waved desperately for help from its windows and roof.
The fire injured about 70 people, many of them now being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burn unit.
It was the latest fire in a country where crowding, flouted building regulations and safety norms have made deadly blazes common.
Last month, a fire in the oldest part of Dhaka, a 400-year-old area cramped with apartments, shops and warehouses, left at least 67 people dead.
In 2012, a fire at a garment factory killed at least 112 people trapped behind its locked gates. Less than six months later, another building containing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.
Another fire in a house illegally storing chemicals in Old Dhaka killed at least 123 people in 2010.
Additional reporting by agencies
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