After over two hours of relentless efforts by as many as 11 fire tenders, a massive blaze that broke out at a highrise building in Dhaka's Banglamotor area was doused on Thursday afternoon.

Fortunately, no casualties were reported till the filling of this report around 13.30pm.

Deputy assistant director (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters, Shahjahan Sikder said that the fire at the 11-storey ‘Rahat Tower’ was doused around 13.12 pm, "but the extent of damage is yet to be ascertained".

"Some 11 fire tenders contained the blaze around 12.30 pm. An office of Jamuna Television was housed on the 10th floor of the building where the fire broke out," he said.

The fire broke out at the 10th floor of ‘Rahat Tower’ around 11.05 am and soon engulfed the building, said fire services officer Rozina Akter.

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On information, nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot to contain the blaze, she said. Later, two more fire tenders joined them to extinguish the blaze.

"A probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause of the fire," she said.

Fire accidents in Bangladesh

The number of fire accidents in Bangladesh has increased four times over the last two decades as the country’s urban areas are expanding without basic infrastructure like fire stations.

According to data provided by the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 285,000 instances of fire occurred in the country between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2020.

These fires also caused an estimated financial loss of around Tk6,900 crore to the state exchequer.

Besides, at least 2,308 people were killed in fires across the country between 2004 and 2020, the fire service data shows.

The year 2019 saw the highest number of 24,074 fire accidents, while 2020 witnessed the second highest of 21,073.

As per the statistics of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 99,752 fires occurred in the country between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020.