DHAKA, June 5, (AFP) -The national flag flew at half-mast and people of all faiths joined prayers as Bangladesh mourned the deaths of nearly 120 people in the country's deadliest blaze.
The fire raged for three hours late Thursday, destroying at least six multi-storey apartment buildings, one of which was hosting a wedding party, and gutting a string of small shops in one of Dhaka's most densely populated areas.
At least 117 people have died in the inferno but officials feared the toll would rise as dozens of critically injured patients lay fighting for their lives in Dhaka's overstretched hospitals.
“Some 40 patients are being treated at two main hospitals. They are in critical condition,” Dhaka's district administrator Muhibul Haque told AFP.
Haque said the government had launched an investigation into the blaze, which firefighters said was fuelled by an illegal chemicals warehouse. |
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