The fire that broke out in capital’s New Super Market this morning has been brought under control after three and a half hours effort.
Thirty firefighting units brought the blaze under control, fire service sources said.
At least 18 persons including firefighters were injured in the blaze as they were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital(DMCH).
Earlier, black smoke filled the air as the pre-dawn fire engulfed the New Super Market in the capital, forcing fire service to mobilise 30 of their units at the scene with military, paramilitary and police joining their hands to extinguish the blaze.
Fire service officials said the incident was reported to them at about 5.40 am and they immediately sent the units to the scene, one after another, and there had been no reported deaths from the blaze.
TV footages showed army, navy, air force and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel along with police joined hands to help the fire fighters while businessmen rushed to the market in their apparent futile efforts to save their belongings at the shops.
The fire service could not ascertain immediately what might have caused the fire but the incident came just 11 days after a pre-dawn blaze in a near identical manner broke out and burned several thousand shops at Dhaka’s Bangabazar clothing market.
The Bangabazar fire devastated the shop owners by the loss weeks ahead of the Eid since efforts of hundreds of firefighters and army personnel could do little to save their belongings as the inferno tore through the clothing market, turning it into a pile of ashes.