During a fire in the ancient district of Chawkbazar in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, according to the local fire department, at least 78 people died.
The fire broke out in an apartment complex where a floor was also used for the storage of highly flammable chemicals. Dozens of people were injured.
The fire spread rapidly to the surrounding buildings on Wednesday evening (local time). Because of the present combustible substances and lack of fire extinguishing water, the fire department had great difficulty in fighting the fire.
The streets in the district in question are very narrow, and that made it difficult for people in the area to escape the fire. Among the victims are also people who were not in the burned-down buildings.
In total, four buildings went up in flames, reports the head of the fire department in Dhaka.
During a comparable fire in 2010, when a warehouse with chemicals went up in flames, 120 people died.
