At least four people were killed and 35 others sustained burn injuries after a massive fire broke out at a building in the Armanitola area of Old Dhaka in the early hours of Friday.

Officials said the fire started at the ground floor of the six-storey Hazi Musa Mansion in Armanitola at 3.17 am and soon spread to other portions of the building. And it took 19 fire tenders nearly three hours to douse the flames.

Initially two bodies were recovered by the firefighters but later two more were pulled out from a small room near the stairs of the building, officials said.

One of the deceased has been identified as Suraiya Akhter, 22, a student of Eden Mohila College, while the identities of the three others, including a security guard of the building, are yet to be established.

Among the injured are three fire fighters, who have been admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Rasel Sikdar, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence control room.

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The injured firefighters have been identified as Liton, 30, Bisnu, 35, and Gias, 40.

"Soon after we were alerted by local people, 19 fire tenders were pressed into service. The fire was doused around 6.11 am," Rasel said.

Raihan, Senior Station Officer (Media) of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) Headquarters, said that building housed several shops and godowns on the ground floor of Hazi Mansion. "The fire might have originated from a chemical godown."

Director General (DG) of the FSCD Brig General Md Sajjad Hossain visited the spot. "A four-member panel will be formed to ascertain the exact cause of the fire," Raihan said.