20141224 Bangladesh Fire rages through Singapore-Bangkok market in Chittagong
Bangladesh Dec 24 2014 “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 30 to 69 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire rages through Singapore-Bangkok market in Chittagong
Updated: 2014-12-24-20:46
A fire has destroyed 120 shops in the Singapore-Bangkok Cooperatives Market and 60 houses at a nearby slum close at Agrabad Access Road in Chittagong.
The fire was brought under control around 9pm on Wednesday after it broke out around 6:30pm, Fire Service Divisional Deputy Assistant Director Md Jasim Uddin told bdnews24.com.
He said over 100 fire-fighters of six units with 20 vehicles worked to tame the flames. RAB and police personnel and the locals also helped, he added.
The flames were completely doused around 10:30pm, he added.
He said the fire apparently caused at least Tk 8 million worth of damage. But there were no casualties.
Jasim Uddin said the fire spread very quickly as the shops were set up one after another in the market and some chemicals inside a furniture store fanned the flames.
The fire service official, however, said they were yet to determine whether the fire originated from the market or the slum behind it.
But one of the traders, Md Sarwar, who has a shop in the market, claimed it started at the slum.
He said there were at least 314 shops in the market.
Fire was seen burning down most of the shops on the back of the one-storey tin-shed market.
Many owners and staff of the stores were running frantically in their attempts to save whatever they could from the fire.
Owner of clothing store Bismillah Enterprise, Md Shakil said they were unable to save anything from the shop. “Everything is lost.”
Websource:Bdnews24.com
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/12/24/fire-rages-through-singapore-bangkok-market-in-chittagong