Fire from lift crash: 5 killed

At least five people, including two women, died and over 100 others were injured in a deadly fire at a shopping mall in the capital's Uttara last evening.

The fire originated at one of the three basements of 15-storey Tropical Alauddin Tower Shopping Complex after a lift fell in its shaft with a loud bang, said Abdur Razzak, inspector (investigation) of Uttara West Police Station.

Primary investigation suggests there was an explosion and a fire after the lift severed and hit the basement around 6:15pm, said Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan.

The officer-in-charge (investigation) of Uttara Police Station confirmed the death toll.

The dead are Mizanur Rahman, 52, a security guard at a nearby building, Salma Aktar, 40, who used to supply shopping bags at the market, Rezaul Karim Rana, 32, a technician, Kamrunnahar Lata, 23, a salesgirl of a first-floor shop at the market, and Jasim Uddin.

Mizanur was burnt beyond recognition while the others had their heads thrashed.

Lata went to the basement to say prayers while the rest to join an Iftar party, witnesses said.

Most of the injured were pedestrians, including children, who sustained wounds as pieces of glass and other fittings fell on them from different floors.

“The impact of the explosion was so huge that glass shattered from up to the fifth floor,” said a firefighter.

Three of the injured -- a father and his two kids -- suffered critical burns. The father and one of his kids -- with 80 percent and 53 percent burns respectively -- were being treated at the intensive care unit of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The fire service DG said they suspected there was an explosion followed by the fire. The explosion might have happened from accumulated gas as some security guards said there was a complaint of gas leakage since the last three days.

He also said many powerful electric cables for air condition connections at the mosque at the basement and electric lines might also cause sparks and then an explosion.

“We suspect there was an explosion as parts of the mosque's wall were blown away,” he said, adding that what actually happened and how would be known after a complete probe.

But he initially blamed poor maintenance of the lift for its collapse.

Thirteen units of the fire service doused the blaze around 7:25pm, over an hour after it broke out, said Mozammel Haq, deputy director of fire service.

The fire didn't spread to any of the upper floors of the building, which mostly house shops, but the ceiling of the ground floor came off, damaging shops, doors and windows. 

Contacted, M Abu Sadeque, director of House Building and Research Institute, said majority of the buildings in Dhaka were built without following the National Building Code.

He added that the risky malpractice continued unabated as there was no regulatory authority entrusted with the task of implementing the code in building high-rises.