Five die in city slum fire

A fire ravages a sprawling slum at Rayerbazar in the capital last night killing at least five people and razing 1,200 shanties.Photo: STAR

At least five people including three children died and many others went missing as a fire gutted a slum at Rayerbazar in the capital last night.
Firefighters and the joint forces were rummaging through piles of debris for survivors and dead bodies as of filing this report at 12:15am. Locals fear the death count could be rising.
The dead were identified as four-year-old Maruf, his two-year-old brother and four-year-old sister, and a couple from neighbouring hut. All the bodies were badly charred.
Witnesses said the fire started at around 8:30pm from an oven and then swept through the slum of over 1,200 shanties,” said Anwar Hossain, one of the owners.
“Electricity went off soon after the shanties caught fire. Hundreds of people began running helter-skelter in panic,” said Shah Alam, a slum dweller.
Referring to the dead kids, he said their mother just took a TV out of her house and was about to enter again for the children. But by that time flames had engulfed the room.
Firefighting units from different stations in the city reached the spot within half an hour and brought the blaze under control at around 10:00pm with help of the locals.
Firoza Begum, a garments worker, did not yet know the fate of her child. She said, “I was at work. My brother who was home with the children managed to come out with my one-year-old son Sohagh but he couldn't bring along my daughter Anika.”
Parveen Begum too did not know what had happened to her four kids aged between 13 and two. She and her husband were out of their house and rushed there as soon as they heard the news.
Deputy Assistant Director of Fire Brigade and Civil Defence Shamsuzzoha said the fire has levelled around 1,200 shanties. So far five bodies have been recovered, he added.