At least two killed as residential building catches fire

At least two persons were killed and 17 others injured in a fire broke out at a 6-storey residential building in Armanitola of Old Dhaka early Friday, said fire service.

One of the deceased was identified as the caretaker of the building, Rasel. Another victim was a resident of an apartment at third floor of the building.

Of the injured, 14 people are the residents of the building while three are fire service members, said fire service director Lieutenant Colonel Zillur Rahman.

A local person said that there was a chemical warehouse at the ground floor of the building.

Zillur Rahman said, the fire broke out at around 3:15am on Friday. As many as 19 units of fire service doused the blaze trying for three hours, he added.

According to the fire service director, most of the people became sick due to the smoke. The injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Mitford Hospital. Two or three people among the injured were admitted to Sheikh Hasina Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute of DMCH.

A resident of a building next to the affected building also complained that there was a chemical warehouse at the ground floor. He claimed that there are such warehouses in almost all the buildings in the vicinity.