Hundreds of shops gutted in market fire in Bangladesh

DHAKA (Reuters) – A huge fire gutted several hundreds shops at a market in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, but there were no casualties as the blaze swept through the area in the early hours of Thursday, before stores opened.

It took six hours for military forces and firefighters to contain the blaze, which spread quickly in the Mohammadpur market due to the large amount of flammable items such as cooking oil and plastics, officials said.

Fire service official Shahjahan Sikder said there were no casualties in the fire, which was likely caused by an electric short circuit.

“My family was dependent on this shop, what to do now? All burnt to ashes,” a shopowner told local media.

Fires are common in densely populated Dhaka, which has seen a building boom in recent years, often without proper safety measures. Fires and explosions often occur due to faulty gas cylinders, air conditioners and bad electrical wiring.

In April, a fire in a shopping complex in Dhaka injured several firefighters and burned down some 5,000 stores.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; editing by Miral Fahmy)