11 killed in Hazaribagh slum fire

At least 11 people were burnt to death and 15 injured when a devastating fire raged through a slum and its adjoining tin-shed buildings in the capital’s Hazaribagh area early Sunday.

Of the deceased, six are children while five are women.

Witnesses and local sources said all the dead victims, who are tenants of a two-storey tin-shed house adjacent to Boubazar slum, died in their sleep as the fire originated around 3:00am.

The firemen recovered nine charred bodies from the bathroom of the tin-shed houses while two others from the kitchen.

A total of 46 families stayed in the houses from where the 11 bodies were found.

The deceased were identified as Munni Begum, 25, her two and a half-year-old daughter Meem; Shahinur Begum, 26, and her daughter Julie, 6; Helena Begum, 40, her daughter Aklima, 8, and her three and a half-year-old grandson Sakib; and Sokhina Begum, 55, and her granddaughter Moyna Akter, 12; Anwara Khatun, 60; and Abdullah, 7.

The fire, which sources are still remained unclear, spread within minutes at Boubazar slum at Rayerbazar Road in Hazaribagh and burnt to ashes around 700 shanties, 12 tin-shed buildings, 30 shops and five rickshaw garages, locals claimed.

Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Hazaribagh Police Station, however said at least 500 shanties were gutted during the fire.

On information, seven units from several fire fighting stations rushed to the spot and managed to quench the fire around 7:00am after a hectic effort of around four hours, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence office said.

Meanwhile, Dhaka District Administration office donated Tk 20 thousand to the family members of each deceased for their funeral.

The bodies were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue.

Of the injured, 10 were rushed to the DMCH and Mitford Hospital.

Local lawmaker Fazley Noor Taposh and Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandaka visited the scene around 9:30am and 11:00am respectively.

Sunday 19 November 2012

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