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Seven dead in Bangladesh shopping mall fire |
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(03/14/2009)
Dhaka, PAB-Online
Seven people died and dozens were injured in a fire that engulfed the
top six floors of a high-rise building housing Bangladesh's largest
shopping complex, police said Saturday.
The blaze broke out on the 17th floor of the 21-storey building at about 1.30pm (0730 GMT) on Friday, said police spokesman Mohammad Raseduzzaman.
"Seven people died and many more were injured but we do not have the exact number of injuries," he said, adding it took 10 hours to extinguish the blaze.
The fire destroyed floors 16-21 of the Bashundhara City complex, with media reports putting the number of injured at 40. One of the dead was a fireman employed in the building, said Nurul Islam, manager of Shamarita Hospital where the dead and injured were taken.
All fire engines in the capital were ordered to the scene with army personnel also deployed to help bring the blaze under control.
The Daily Star newspaper said firefighters were ill equipped to deal with fires in high-rise buildings.
The six-storey mall, which has 2,500 shops, a gym, food court and cinema complex, was evacuated soon after the fire began, police said.
The office complex above was largely empty because Friday is a holiday in the Muslim country.
The Bashundhara City complex opened in 2004 and was Bangladesh's first modern shopping centre.(AFP/CNA)
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