Massive Banani building fire

At least 25 killed, hundred injured

FE Report | Published: March 28, 2019 22:49:26 | Updated: March 28, 2019 23:07:04

At least 25 people were killed and around one hundred others got injured in a devastating fire that broke out in a multi-storey commercial building in the city's Banani area on Thursday.
The blaze originated from the seventh or eighth floor of the 22-storey FR Tower, located at the Kemal Ataturk Avenue, at around 1.00 pm, and spiralled on to the upper floors of the building.
Some 22 units of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence fire-fighting units doused the flame after over five hours of hectic efforts. Three Air Force helicopters along with separate Army and Navy teams specialised on fire-fighting also joined the rescue operation.
Army helicopters dangled ropes that victims grabbed so they could be lifted to safety, with crowds below cheering and applauding every time someone was rescued.
Helicopters were deployed to drop water on the blaze as scores of firefighters backed by navy and air force specialists struggled to bring it under control.
The fire service is yet to identify the cause of the fire, according to the central control room of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.
A five-member committee was formed to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Other law-enforcement agencies, including police, Ansar and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), along with general people also took part in the rescue effort.
However, the presence of a large number of onlookers at the place of the fire incident somewhat slowed down the fire-fighters' operation.
Besides, the rescue ladders of the fire-fighters could only reach up to 14th to 15th floor of the 22-storey building, which eventually slowed down the rescue efforts.
Some eye witnesses and survivors claimed that the FR Tower lacked necessary fire-extinguishing equipment and safety measures to tackle such an incident.
People from the adjacent high-rise buildings got panicked, and evacuated their respective buildings.
Some people were also seen agitating in front of the FR Tower, ruing the 'delay' by the fire workers to reach the spot promptly right after the fire.
The first two floors of the building houses different kinds of shops; rest of the building accommodates offices of different corporate entities, buying houses, a bank branch, sales centres, restaurants and a convention centre.
The people trapped on the upper floors of the building were yelling in desperation for help through breaking windows.
Besides, many were seen jumping off the building to escape the flame, eventually receiving serious injury.
A Sri Lankan national - Niras Chandra - died, as he jumped out from an upper floor of the building. His death was later confirmed by the doctors at the Kurmitola General Hospital (KGH).
Among the deceased, six people were identified as Parvez Sazzad, Amena Yasmin, Mamun, Abdullah-Al-Faruque, Maksudur and Manir, according to police sources.
Meanwhile, more than 40 injured survivors were admitted to the KGH by 6.00 pm, and another seven people were sent to the burn unit of the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), according to hospital sources.
Concerned anxious relatives of injured or missing people were also seen waiting in the hospitals in search of their near and dear ones.
Jahangir Alam, a security guard at FR Tower and a survivor, was at the rooftop of the building when the fire broke out. He escaped by jumping on to the roof of the adjacent Ahmed Tower.
On emerging from the nearby building, he told the newsmen that the fire might have originated from the seventh or eighth floor of the FR Tower and spread gradually to the upper floors.
As many as one thousand people usually stay in the building during the working hours, according to the eyewitnesses.
An eyewitness - Iqbal Mahmud Miran - told the FE that he saw the fire engulfing from the 8th floor to the upper floors of the building.
"People trapped inside the building were trying to smash the windowpanes to get out from the building in desperation," he added.
AFP report adds: Some people slid down a television cable on the side of the building. Others grabbed ropes lowered by emergency service helicopters which pulled them out of the blaze.
The inferno erupted barely a month after at least 70 people were killed in Dhaka apartment buildings where illegally stored chemicals exploded.
More than 100 ambulances were parked in streets around the building.
In November 2012, a fire swept through a nine-story garment factory near Dhaka killing 111 workers. An investigation found it was caused by sabotage and that managers at the plant had prevented victims from escaping.
Experts said inspections of buildings in the city frequently found fire stairs blocked with stored goods and exit doors locked.
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