26 dead after blaze engulfs Bangladesh high-rise
Witnesses say thick smoke has hampered the efforts of firefighters but most people have been rescued.
Sunday 31 March 2019 15:33, UK
Twenty-six people have died and about 70 been injured after a huge fire broke out in a high-rise office block in Bangladesh.
The fire was reported at the FR Tower in Dhaka's Banani area.
Many people were trapped in the building but firefighters say that after several hours battling the blaze, most have now been rescued.
Fire service deputy director Debashish Bardhan said: "The situation is under control."
Witness Sajib Hasan said people were seen shouting for help from windows on the upper floors.
Five people were seen scaling the building after getting out through windows and one person slipped from what appeared to be a rope and hit electric cables before falling to the ground.
Thick smoke hampered efforts by firefighters to get close to them, but Mr Hasan said he saw at least a dozen people rescued.
Military helicopters joined the rescue operation, and one person dangled from a chopper hovering over the roof as thick plumes of smoke rose into the AG百家乐在线官网.
More than a dozen people who fled to the roof were rescued by firefighters using a hydraulic crane.
Banani is a busy commercial district with multi-storey buildings that house offices, universities and restaurants.
Tushar-or-Rashid, an employee of the Vivid Holidays tour company on the building's first floor, said the fire began above them.
He said: "All of our staff have come out safely but we don't know what happened to the people who work in the upper floors."
Fires are common in Bangladesh, where building regulations and safety norms are often violated.
Last month, a fire in the oldest part of Dhaka, a 400-year-old area cramped with apartments, shops and warehouses, left at least 67 people dead.
In 2012, a fire raced through a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing at least 112 people trapped behind its locked gates.
Less than six months later, another building containing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.
Another fire in a house illegally storing chemicals in Old Dhaka killed at least 123 people in 2010.