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Mall fire in Bangladesh kills 1: thousands flee

by Amy Judd | March 13, 2009 at 09:18 am

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A huge fire broke out in a shopping mall in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh earlier today and thousands of shoppers were sent running for the exits as the top floor burned. One person died and about 20 were treated at a hospital for various types of injuries, including those sustained when trying to leave the building with thousands of people at the same time.

It is thought that some shoppers are still trapped inside in the Bashundhara City shopping centre, but the exact number is still not known.

"There is no scope of getting information from the inside so far," Rahman said, speaking by phone from Dhaka. Many people visit the mall on Friday, which is a day off in Bangladesh.

There were estimated to be about 10,000 people inside the building when it caught fire at about 1:45pm local time.
The fire broke out on the top floor, where the food court is located, which made the flames difficult to reach because the building is 20 stories high.
The mall opened five years ago and is the largest shopping mall in South Asia.

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JeffHuang

at 10:48 on March 13th, 2009

I think the latest report has that at least 4 people died

A helicopter plucked survivors from the roof of Bangladesh's biggest shopping mall Friday as a fire raced through the upper levels of the high-rise complex, killing at least four people and injuring at least 50 others.

nehalarya

at 07:36 on March 14th, 2009

Bangladeshi authorities found seven bodies in the charred remains of a massive shopping complex that caught fire Friday afternoon.

Along with the seven deaths, 15 people were injured, said Mahabubor Rahman, deputy commissioner of police.Rescuers were searching for more trapped shoppers Saturday.Authorities were also trying to determine what caused the blaze.

Though the fire had been extinguished, it was unclear how many people remained inside the 22-story complex.

"A lot of (people) could be (trapped) there," Rahman said, speaking by phone from Dhaka. Many people go to shopping areas Friday, which is a day off in Bangladesh