Short-circuit caused FR Tower fire: State Minister

An electric short-circuit on the eighth floor of FR Tower sparked the deadly fire that killed 26 people last month, state minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman said Tuesday.

"The fire spread to the ninth and 10th floors. A number of people died because of smoke in the 11th, 12th and 13th floors," he said after meeting the ministry's probe committee and representatives of various ministries, reports UNB.

Enamur admitted that the fire service and civil defence lacks equipment.

"We wanted to procure equipment worth Tk 10 billion but after Churihatta and FR Tower fires, we understood that this budget is insufficient," he said.

Seventy-one people were killed after a deadly blaze swept through several buildings in the old quarter of Dhaka in late February.

Many of the capital's buildings are unplanned and lack proper firefighting equipment.

"We've realised that we need heavy machinery and a bigger budget to ensure fire extinguishing system," the state minister added.