Fire breaks out at Mohakhali slum
A fire broke out at Saat-tola slum in Mohakhali of the capital early today, damaging shanties and adjacent structures. Thirteen fire fighting units were sent to the spot to bring the fire under control and the fire was 60 per cent under control by 2:15am, said fire service officials. The cause of the fire could not be immediately known. Fire Service control room sources said they received information about a fire breaking out in the slum a while before 1am.
According to a resident of the slum, they sensed the fire in the slum at around 12:30am and informed the fire service. Over 100 tin-shed houses were damaged in fire, he claimed. Another local claimed that an old woman died in the fire. The claim, however, could not be verified. Fire fighting units had to remain about 200 feet away from the slum as the access road to the slum is very narrow, said a fire serviceman. No confirmed reports of casualty or the extent of damage could be determined till writing of this report at 2:30am.
