Gabtoli cattle market damaged by fire

At least 22 animals, including cows and goats, were burnt to death in a fire that broke out at Gabtoli cattle market in Dhaka yesterday morning.

Twenty-five other cows which were burnt partially were butchered immediately, said traders, adding, the dead animals included 15 cows, three goats and four sheep.

The fire started around 10:00am under one of the sheds and then spread to the others.

Three out of the eight sheds made with plastic roofing had completely been gutted before five fire fighting units doused the fire in an hour, said Selimuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Darussalam Police Station.

Firemen primarily suspected that an electric short circuit might have caused the fire. They, however, said further investigation is needed.

Over 300 cattle were under the three damaged sheds. The traders managed to rescue most of them after the fire.

Mohammad Shiplu had 51 cows in two affected sheds. After witnessing the fire from a nearby area, he rushed to the market and rescued most of the animals. Three of his cows were roasted and 15 others burnt partially by that time.

“I incurred a loss of over Tk 8 lakh,” he said.

Another trader, Mohammad Anu, had been rearing 20 cows in the shed-1 to get profit before Eid-ul-Azha. Five of his cows died and seven were badly injured.

 “We tried to untie the animals... But it was almost impossible as the fire created severe heat and the plastic was melting down on us,” he said.