DHAKA FIRE: OVER 70 DIE

A fast-moving fire swept through adjoining apartment buildings and chemical warehouses in a historic part of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, killing over 70 people and injuring around 40, the latest such deadly blaze in the country.

Officials said the fire broke out at night a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of a four-storey building named Hazi Wahed Mansion behind a mosque in Old Dhaka's congested Chawkbazar area on Wednesday night and the flames then quickly spread through four other buildings nearby, including a community centre where a wedding party was on.

"The salvage campaign is ending here," mayor of Dhaka South Sayeed Khokon said. Fire officials said that the blaze has claimed 81 lives so far. Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials said the fire spread rapidly due to multiple chemical godowns that were situated in the area.

Fire service control room spokesman Kamrul Ahsan confirmed the death toll to be 81 while state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital's director Brigadier General Nasiruddin said 78 bodies were kept at their disposal.

Khokon called off the rescue operation around 12:10 PM after nearly 14 hours of efforts. Two-hundred firefighters from 37 units doused the blaze, making their way to the scene through narrow lanes with fire engines.

"Some of the bodies were burned very badly, difficult to be identified... of the victims, five are children and nine women," a doctor said.

Bangladesh's fire service chief Ali Ahmed said the blaze may have started with a gas cylinder before quickly spreading through the building where chemicals were stored.