04 June,2010 09:43 AM IST | | Agencies
At least 87 people were killed and over 100 injured in a devastating fire here in the Bangladesh capital Thursday night, officials said.
The fire broke out in a chemical factory in the old Dhaka city at about 9.20 p.m. local time. It spread to four or five houses in the congested residential area, trapping hundreds of residents, Nayeem Md. Shahidullah, an official at the Fire Service and Civil Defence of Bangladesh, was quoted as saying by Xinhua early Friday morning.
Rescue efforts was still on and people were hopeful it would end soon, he said.
Fire-fighters rushed to the spot and after frantic efforts managed to bring the fire under control.
The injured have been admitted at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
According to witnesses, there was an explosion in an electrical transformer, which later caught fire and spread to nearby residential and commercial buildings.
This was the second deadly disaster in Dhaka in two days after a five-storey building collapsed Tuesday night, killing 25 people.
