Dhaka: Thousands of shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in the early hours of Saturday at a shopping center in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Newmarket police station chief Shafikul Gani Saboo was quoted as saying by news portal bdnews24.com that the blaze broke out on the second floor of the New Supermarket, a shopping center between Newmarket and Dhaka College, at around 6.45 a.m. and quickly spread to other floors. It spread The fire was so fierce that the fire service had to seek the help of the army, paramilitary forces and police to control it. Fire service officials said that there was no news of anyone’s death in the accident.
Officials said 34 people, including shop owners as well as 15 firefighters and rescuers, fell ill during the rescue operation due to the blaze. He said the injured were taken to Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute and Dhaka Medical College Hospital. According to doctors, the condition of at least two of the injured is critical. The blaze was largely brought under control within three hours after it broke out, said General Mohammad Moinuddin, chief of the fire service. We are carrying out rescue operations. Our priority is to save the shops as much as possible.
However, Moinuddin said that due to the presence of inflammable items in the shops, the fire spread rapidly in the market and gutted more than 100 shops. He told that at present the cause of the fire could not be ascertained. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of sabotage and urged the police and intelligence agencies to investigate whether the recent series of fire incidents were the result of a well-planned conspiracy. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered a thorough investigation to find out whether it was a conspiracy to create unrest ahead of elections due early next year. Building fires and explosions due to exploding gas cylinders, poor air conditioning and faulty electrical wiring are frequent incidents in Bangladesh.
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