Fire sweeps through Bangladesh slum, killing nine, injuring dozens
- The blaze broke out very early in the morning when most of the slum’s residents were asleep
A devastating blaze raced through a crammed slum in southeastern Bangladesh on Sunday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 50, police and firefighters said.
The blaze broke out in the Chaktai area of the port city at about 3.30am and spread through the district of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief Pranab Chowdhury.
“At least 470 shanties were destroyed by the fire. So far nine people have died. They included four members of a family,” said fire brigade official Hefazatul Islam.
Another official, Jasim Uddin, said the fire broke out while the slum dwellers were asleep and at least 200 shanty homes were gutted before firefighters brought the blaze under control.
He said the cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation has been ordered.
However, another fire official suspected the blaze may have been caused by a short circuit.
Chittagong is 216km (134 miles) southeast of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh is an impoverished country where safety regulations are rarely followed and accidents kill hundreds every year. Fires regularly break out in slums, where millions live in squalid conditions.
Rights groups have in the past claimed some shanty town blazes were deliberate acts of sabotage by developers trying to create more space so they can build multi-storey structures.
“We have seen fires are used as a weapon to evict poor slum dwellers and squatters from government or private property,” said rights activist Nur Khan Liton.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters
