A fire swept through the kitchen market section of the DNCC Market in capital’s Gulshan-1.
Nearly 300 shops have been burned down in the nearly two-and-half-hour blaze, the second fire in a little over two years to rage the market at the upscale neighbourhood of Dhaka.
In January 2017, the Gulshan-1 DNCC Market was burned down in a massive blaze. Many stores in same section of the market were gutted then.
The fire on Saturday (Mar 30) was reported at 5.45am when fifteen fire-fighting units were dispatched to scene.
Later, five more units as well as military personnel joined the firefighting efforts.
Around 8.30am, Fire Service Director (Operation and Maintenance) AKM Shakil Nawaz told the media at the scene that the fire was completely put out.
Smoke could be seen rising from the area even after the fire was brought under control. Fire service workers were entering and searching the various stores. Chicken, fish and other food products were found burned.
The makeshift market, built using tin sheets on a steel structure next to the DNCC market, housed stores selling meat and poultry, groceries and perfumes and body spray.
In addition to the stores selling imported food products, there were also stores selling plastic toys. None could be found intact in the aftermath of the fire.
No casualties have been reported, so far.
Storeowners said that no one stays at the market overnight. The collapsible gates leading into the market remains locked with guards posted outside the premises.
The fire had spread from the makeshift market to the five-storey Gulshan Shopping Centre nearby. Several stores on the second floor were damaged by the flames. The market houses stores selling hardware and food.
Officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire.
The fire on Saturday occurs a little over two years after the market was gutted by a devastating fire in January 2017, causing part of it to collapse.
A pair of major recent fire incidents in the capital have shook the nation — The Feb 20 fast-moving fire at Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar killing 70 and the blazes at a commercial high-rise in upmarket Banani on Thursday (Mar 28) claiming 25 lives.
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