Bangladesh firefighters battle blaze at Dhaka skyscraper

[Kailash Kumar]

Bangladesh firefighters battle blaze at Dhaka skyscraper

No official word on casualties, but people are believed to be trapped inside FR Tower in the Bangladeshi capital.

9 minutes ago

Al Jazeera's Tanveer Chaudhry, reporting from Dhaka, said "at least six people have jumped off the building"

Fire crews rushed to the scene of a huge blaze that broke out in a 19-storey commercial building in Dhaka on Thursday, an emergency official said,weeks after a deadly fire in the Bangladeshi capital left at least 70 people dead.

"Nineteen fire-fighting units are working at the scene. Bangladesh navy and air force have also joined to fight the fire," said Duty Officer Mohammad Russel from Dhaka's central fire service control room.

There was no official word on casualties, but several people were believed to be trapped inside the tower in Banani area of the Bangladeshi capital, according to The Daily Star news website.

Helicopters dropped water on the burning building from above while hundreds of panicked onlookers crowded the streets in the upmarket commercial district of Banani.

Images on social media showed intense flames and thick black smoke pouring out of the building.

Al Jazeera's Tanveer Chaudhry, reporting from Dhaka, said "at least six people have jumped off the building".

"There are 95 emergency services working and helicopters hovering above.... trying to rescue some people from the roof as well.

"The fire took place on the 9th floor of the building but we don't know under what circumstances."

A massive blaze in Dhaka's old quarter last month killed at least 70 people and injured 50 others.

Fire service officials said a warehouse of deodorant and granular plastic in one of the five buildings that caught fire fuelled that inferno, which took more than 12 hours to control.

The disaster recalled a June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli in which 123 people were killed.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...believed-trapped-reports-190328090325682.html

https://twitter.com/x/status/1111195315653140480

https://twitter.com/x/status/1111193518129758208

 

[Gibbs]

Terrible.. But 19 stories is not a skyscraper

 

[jamahir]

This is one of the reasons I don't like skyscrapers.

Al Jazeera's Tanveer Chaudhry, reporting from Dhaka, said "at least six people have jumped off the building"

That gave me one thought : why can't every office or house in such tall complexes have parachutes for the people working or living there ??

@Hamartia Antidote

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

This is one of the reasons I don't like skyscrapers.



That gave me one thought : why can't every office or house in such tall complexes have parachutes for the people working or living there ??

@Hamartia Antidote

You need to be up pretty high for your parachute to fully open and slow you down.

 

[jamahir]

You need to be up pretty high for your parachute to fully open and slow you down.

That is true.

Also, I once saw a South Indian film in which a factory had a chute ( like a garbage chute ) that one could use to slide down to safer floors.

But the best thing of all is the simplest. Not allow buildings to rise above four or five floors.

 

[Kailash Kumar]

Update

At least 19 people died and a number of others were injured in a fire Thursday at an office high-rise in Dhaka, Bangladesh, emergency officials said.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...office-tower-kills-at-least-19/5211553767958/

 

[Godman]

It's a high-rise to be precise not a Skyscraper .
I am surprised there is only one or two Skyscrapers in BD despite the high population.