Man, son suffer severe burns in Sat Tola slum fire

A father and son suffered severe burns in a fire that gutted at least 32 rooms in a slum, Sat Tala Bosti, in the capital's Mohakhali early yesterday.

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) say Abu Bakar, 55, suffered 45 percent burns while Kawsar, aged 22, has 25 percent burns.

Inspector Mozammel Haque, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, told The Daily Star that the two were asleep when the fire erupted.

Sparks from an overhead transformer which exploded around 5:00am fell on a two-storey tin and wood structure containing the 32 rooms, causing it to catch fire, said Nurul Haq, deputy director of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence.

Seven firefighting units put it out in around one hour, saving a huge number of adjoining shanties, he said.

The victims took shelters at their relatives' shanties, said local sources. 

Meanwhile, another fire broke out on the fourth floor of a multi-storey building in Paltan around 5:45pm. It was brought under control by 14 firefighting units within half an hour, fire officials said.