DHAKA: Bangladesh firefighters said Friday that glaring safety lapses were responsible for a Dhaka restaurant blaze that killed 46 people, with more deaths likely among those rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Thursday night’s fire began at a popular biryani restaurant at the bottom of a seven-floor commercial property in the capital’s upscale Bailey Road neighborhood.
The entire building, home to several other eateries, was soon engulfed by flames that took fire crews two hours to bring under control.
Fire service operations director Rezaul Karim said the blaze had been made worse by numerous cooking gas cylinders stored haphazardly in stairwells and restaurant kitchens.
Main Uddin, the national fire services chief, said the building lacked safety measures.
“It did not have at least two staircases or a fire exit,” he said. “Most of the people died from suffocation.”
Fire officials earlier told reporters they suspected the inferno began when one of the gas cylinders accidentally caught fire.
Police inspector Bacchu Mia said that two more people had succumbed to their wounds on Friday while being treated in hospital.
“The death toll is now 46. Two people have died from injuries — one at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and another at the Police Hospital,” he said.
Around 15 people remained in critical condition, he added.
Police investigators were seen walking inside the gutted building and documenting the wreckage on Friday morning, hours after the government ordered an investigation into the fire’s origins.
Hundreds of anxious family members rushed to the nearby Dhaka Medical College Hospital overnight as ambulances brought the dead and injured to the clinic.
