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Dhaka, June 3 (bdnews24.com)--Fire burned, smoke plumed. The odour of death stood. It was the old city humbled and scared as death counts from Thursday night's devastating fire at Old Dhaka's Nimtali were creeping up to 100.
With 88 deaths confirmed and many still trapped in buildings or fighting to survive critical burn wounds in hospital, the effort to search and pull out people--dead or alive--stretch into early Friday.
Firefighters sprayed water at charred buildings and belongings inside, as plumes of black smoke rose into the night sky.
Private television stations put the figure of casualties at 100 dead and 150 severely wounded after a transformer exploded and sparked a blaze that raced through several apartment complexes, feeding on books, chemicals and leather.
The carnage began when the blast set alight a three-storey apartment building in the Najirabazar.
This is the second deadly disaster to strike the capital in 72 hours after a five-storey building toppled completely off its base onto several shanties in Tejgaon's Begunbari on Tuesday night, claiming 25 lives.
The home ministry has formed a three-member committee, headed by the additional secretary, which includes representatives from the police and fire department. The committee has been asked to submit its report by seven days.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her condolence for the dead, her deputy press secretary Mahabubul Huq Shakil told reporters.
She also ordered authorities of all government hospitals including the Combined Military Hospital to take proper measures for the treatment of those injured.
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital to see the wounded and mourn the dead. She demanded compensation for the families of the deceased.
Home minister Sahara Khatun, LGRD state minister Jahangir Kabir Nanok and AL joint general secretary Mahbub-Ul-Huq Hanif visited the DMCH burns unit, where some 70 persons were admitted.
Disaster management minister Abdur Razzaque after visiting the injured declared Tk 20,000 for each bereaving family. Health minister AFM Ruhal Haque, who also visited the burns unit, said proper treatment of the injured was ensured.
Dhaka's deputy commissioner Mahibul Haque said that the fire was doused. He said 60 to 75 bodies were recovered.
"But many were still trapped," he added.
The Army and Red Crescent joined the rescue drive around 2:30am.
Fire service and civil defence director general Brig Gen Abu Nayeem Mohammed Shahidullah at 2:20am told bdnews24.com that 87 bodies were recovered from five to six buildings of Agamasi Lane since 11pm on Thursday.
Search were ongoing after which the rescue operation will end, he said.
He said the fire, triggered by an explosion of an electrical transformer, quickly spread into another transformer across the road, and the fire tore through a row of crowded buildings.
Shahidullah said since the power supply was cut off it was difficult to conduct rescue operations. He also said the road was too narrow for the fire engines to move to the scene.
Most of the people died due to suffocation and extreme heat.
Gulzar, Faruque and Didar, three brothers of a worst affected building said they lost 12 of their family to the raging inferno. They survived as they had been out when the fire engulfed the buliding.
One Salman said he and his family had come here to attend the wedding ceremony of his uncle. Twelve of his family members including his grandmother 'Shahzadi' died, he told bdnews24.com.
A local resident Akbar Ali told bdnews24.com that 11 of his family members had been killed in the incident.
As many as 150 came for treatment at the DMCH burns unit, 41 were admitted, and 10 of them were in critical condition, burns unit director Dr Shamanta Lal Sen said.
Earlier, one of the injured died after he had been sent to Salimullah Medical College Hospital, better known as Mitford hospital. Sobbing relatives looked for dear ones amid chaos.
Eleven more bodies were lying on the roof of a nearby building and 48 bodies were recovered from the surrounding residential and commercial buildings.
Locals said the firefighters were late to arrive at the scene and that there was acute water crisis, factors that prevented the blazed from being doused.
The fire broke out around 9:00pm after the electrical transformer at Nabab Katra in Nimtali under Dhaka City Corporation's ward 69 exploded with a huge bang. The flames engulfed the small shops selling inflammable books, chemicals and shoes, causing the fire to spread fast, firefighters and witnesses said.
Director of Salimullah hospital Brig Gen Khademul Insan Mohammed Iqbal said a burns unit was assembled temporarily to treat the injured since they had no such unit.
Six of the dead have been named as nurse Shamsunnahar, 35, her daughters 'Aditi', 7, and 'Seuti', 9; 'Babu', 35, Hassan Siraji, 35, and three-year-old Sonu.
The others could not be immediately identified.
Thirteen bodies were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
The fire service chief said 12 fire units from Sadarghat, Lalbagh and Mohammadpur rushed to the scene. Reinforcements arrived later, he added.
Dhaka city mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka and local MP Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin visited the place of occurence.
bdnews24.com/sha/lh/pks/bd/0250h.
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