By: LakshmiPS
A devastating fire early Friday swept through a slum in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
Ershad Hossain, duty officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defense Central Control Room, said eleven firefighting units brought the blaze under control at around 1:50 a.m. local time after about an hour of frantic efforts.
He said densely populated “Hirur Maar Slum on Kalshi Road” in Dhaka’s Mirpur area holds about 100 houses.
The exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.
According to the firefighter, most of the shanties made of scrap sheet iron, plastic and cardboard were destroyed fully or partially in the fire.
Many affected slum dwellers were seen lamenting in open sky as most of them left behind all valuables when they escaped.
No casualties have so far been reported.
Fires are common in Dhaka slums where hundreds of thousands of people are crammed in shacks along rail and waterways.
(Reuters)
