Members of the committee entrusted with investigating the cause of the fire incident in Building No. 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat on Friday inspected the affected building.
"We have inspected building 7. We have started our investigation work," chief of the committee Nasimul Gani, also senior secretary of the home ministry, told the FE.
The committee inspected the scene after holding its first meeting earlier in the morning.
All committee members attended the meeting held at Nasimul's office at the Public Safety Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Replying to a query whether any signs of sabotage were found during the inspection, he said, "No comments can be made on these matters right now. The findings will be mentioned in the report after the investigation is completed."
Asked about their work, he said, "We are working according to the responsibilities the investigation committee has been tasked with."
Earlier, an eight-member high-powered committee was formed by the government to investigate the cause of the massive blaze that gutted several floors of building 7 at the Secretariat.
The committee includes Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam; Housing and Public Works Secretary Md Hamidur Rahman Khan; Dhaka Cantonment Commandant CMTD Brig Gen Mahbubur Russell; Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) teachers Prof Tanvir Manjur of the Urban Strategy Department; Associate Professor Md Yasir Arafat Khan of the Chemical Engineering Department; Associate Professor Yasir Arafat of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department; and Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal.
The fire broke out at 1:52am on Thursday at the Secretariat's building 7, severely damaging sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth floors and sparking widespread speculation about its origin.
It took 19 firefighting units around six hours to bring the flames under control and 10 hours to completely douse them.
Offices of the Road Transport and Highways Division on the eighth floor and those of the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the Local Government Division on the seventh floor suffered significant damage, according to officials.
They said these two floors saw highest intensity of fire that resulted in destruction of official documents, furniture and equipment. The fire also damaged the power and internet systems.
The sixth and ninth floors also sustained substantial damage.
Officials from the ministries and the fire service are jointly assessing extent of the losses. The ministries will soon unveil detailed reports on the damage.
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