News in Brief-(2024-03-30)

Shoe factory catches fire in Ctg

A shoe factory caught fire in Baizid Bostami Industrial Area of the port city of Chattogram on Friday. Local sources said the fire broke out in the shoe factory at around 4 pm. According to the fire service, nine fire fighting units managed to douse the blaze at around 6.40 pm after two and a half hours of frantic efforts. The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained. The loss for the blaze is yet to be known. Locals and fire fighters suspect that the fire might have originated from an electric short circuit inside the factory. However, no casualty was reported from the fire. — OUR CORRESPONDENT

Four dengue cases reported

No fresh death due to dengue was reported in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours until Friday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, four patients were hospitalised with viral fever during this period, according to the DGHS. Of them, three were admitted in Dhaka hospitals, while the rest was outside the capital. A total of 63 patients are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country. So far, 1,673 dengue cases have been reported since January 1, 2024. Last year, a total of 1,705 people lost their lives due to dengue, making it the deadliest year on record. The DGHS recorded 321,179 dengue cases and 3, 18,749 recoveries last year. Last year's September was the deadliest month for the dengue outbreak, with 396 fatalities and 79,598 cases, according to DGHS data. — UNB

Transport worker dies after falling into Padma River

A transport worker died after falling into the Padma River in the Daulatdia upazila of Rajbari on Friday. The incident happened at 7:00 am at the Daulatdia Launch terminal. The dead is Md Firoz Sheikh (28), a resident of Manikganj's Shibaloy upazila. He worked as an assistant for the Selfie Transport Paribahan. Local people present at the launch terminal said he suddenly fell into the river from the pontoon of the launch terminal. When locals initially failed to rescue him, they informed the Goalanda Fire Service and Daulatdia River Police. Later, at around 8:00 am, the Goalanda Fire Service and a diving team arrived and recovered Firoz's body around 9:00 am. The deceased's father, Asgar Ali Sheikh, said his son had suffered from epilepsy since childhood. "He had gone to a relative's house in Goalanda last night. When returning home in the morning, while waiting for the launch on the pontoon, he suffered may have had a seizure and fell into the river," he said. Goalanda Fire Service and Civil Defense Station's leader, Sabekul Islam said the diving team arrived at the scene and recovered the missing person around 9:00 am and handed over the dead body to the Daulatdia River Police. The in-charge of the Daulatdia River Police Outpost, Sub-Inspector Md Farid Uddin, said the autopsy of the deceased has been completed, and further legal procedures are underway. —UNB