Twenty units of firefighters were working to douse the fire that erupted in densely populated Karail slum at Banani in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday, rendering hundreds of people homeless.
The slum continued to burn till filing this report at 9:00pm, with flames spreading rapidly despite escalating emergency response, according to Fire Service and Civil Defence officials.
The blaze was reported at about 5:20pm and upon receiving the news, eleven units of the Fire Service were dispatched to bring the fire under control, fire service officials said.
At about 9:00pm, Fire Service and Civil Defence director (operations and maintenance) Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told reporters at the scene that聽 20 units of firefighters were working to bring the fire under control.
He said that traffic congestion initially delayed their arrival at the scene due to which the dousing operation began late.
鈥楧ue to narrow alleyways and congested housing, the fire service officials are facing challenges. Narrow alleyways forced the firefighters to leave the engines at a distance and drag long hoses through the lanes to reach the flames,鈥� he said.
The surrounding areas were also crowded with onlookers, which made it difficult for the firefighters to work, Tajul said.
No casualties have so far been reported, fire service officials said, adding that the cause of the fire and the extent of damage were yet to be determined.
Several fire incidents occurred at the slum earlier with the last fire being occurred on February 22 which burnt at least 60 shanties of the slum.