United News of Bangladesh

BNP has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the fire incident at a six-storey commercial building on Bailey Road in Dhaka that claimed 46 lives and injured many. In a statement on Friday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed his condolences. Two BUET students lost their lives in Bailey Road fire About 45 people died in the Baily Road multi building blaze on Thursday night. And for those who are fighting for life in hospital beds, their tears and sorrow are very heartbreaking and touching, he said. Fakhrul said the relevant doctors and officials informed them that the death toll may increase.“I am deeply saddened and bereaved, along with the family and friends of the deceased and injured who suffered in the horrible fire accident. I pray to almighty Allah to give strength and patience to the family members who lost their loved ones.” Bailey Road fire: Death toll reaches 46 He also wished for the early recovery of the injured in the blaze. Voicing concern about frequent fire incidents, the BNP leader said the lack of rule of law in the country contributed to the rise of such incidents and the devastating situation. Tragedy strikes Italian expat family in Bailey Road Fire The government does not feel responsible for holding people accountable for creating anarchy in society, which causes people's unexpected death and misery, he added. He also urged health providers to provide proper treatment to the injured.

Jarin Tasneem Khan Priyanti, a resident of Binodpur in Munshiganj Sadar upazila, has perished in the fire at Bailey Road in the capital. Priyanti, a second-year student of English Honour’s at Munshiganj Government Harganga College, is now just a memory. Two BUET students lost their lives in Bailey Road fire Her elder sister, Tasnova Khan Suha, arrived in Dhaka from Canada on Wednesday with her son Saima. Priyanti’s father, Advocate Awlad Hossain Khan, mother, Meherunnessa, and elder brother Sajeed Hossain Piyal along with her went to Eskaton, Dhaka to meet her sister. Bailey Road fire: Death toll reaches 46 On Thursday night, Suha, along with her daughter and Priyanta, and aunt-in-law, went to the “Kacchi Bhai Restaurant” on Bailey Road for dinner. After the fire broke out, the second floor of the Green Cozy Cottage building, where the restaurant is located, was engulfed in smoke and nothing could be seen. While the three others with her were able to get out, Priyanti’s hand slipped away. She could not get out and died tragically in the fire. Tragedy strikes Italian expat family in Bailey Road Fire The news of her death cast a gloom over her classmates, teachers, and relatives. Relatives thronged their Binodpur home. However, Priyanti's body is still in Dhaka. Piyal said that Priyanta panicked after seeing the fire. Suha's aunt-in-law quickly left with her 4.5-year-old son Saiyab after the incident. However, Suha tried to come out holding Priyanti’s hand. But people were coming down from the stairs in a hurry, and at one point Priyanta's hand slipped away in the smoke. Priyanti passed her HSC from President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed Residential Model School and College in the city. There is also a shadow of mourning around her former school. No one can bear this tragic death. Her dreams have been burnt to ashes. And has left her loved ones in a sea of tears.

Two students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) died in the fire at Bailey Road in the capital on Thursday night. They were Nahian Amin, 22 batch student of EEE department and Lamisha Islam, of Mechanical department of the same batch, Dhaka Medical College Hospital Police Outpost In-Charge Inspector Bachchu Mia confirmed on Friday. Tragedy strikes Italian expat family in Bailey Road Fire Their bodies were handed over to the family members, he said. Bailey Road fire: Death toll reaches 46 Prof Mizanur Rahman of BUET, janaza of both the students were also completed early in the morning. ‘What sin have I committed…? Everything is over’, laments a mother over daughter's death

"What sin have I committed that I have received such a big punishment? Everything is over." This was how Basna, the mother of Poppy Akhter, who died in the Bailey Road fire, was wailing in front of the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Friday morning. Tragedy strikes Italian expat family in Bailey Road Fire Her daughter and two grandchildren died in the fire incident in the capital's Bailey Road on Thursday night. The deceased were Poppy (30), her daughter Ardita (12) and son San (7). Bailey Road fire: Death toll reaches 44 Basna said that her daughter had left the house with her two grandchildren. Her two grandchildren had insisted on eating at a restaurant. They left their Shantibagh home in the capital in the evening. They had gone to eat at a restaurant on Bailey Road. PM Hasina expresses shock over Bailey Road building blaze After the fire incident, Basna and her son-in-law went to the scene and could not find them. Then they went to the morgue at night. Later, they learned that their daughter and two grandchildren had died. Sitting on the floor in front of the morgue, she kept saying, "Don't hide the body. I want to see the body." Relatives who were with her said that when the fire broke out, Poppy had called her husband Shipon Poddar in their final contact.

Syed Mubarak, an expatriate Bangladeshi living in Italy, had come to dine at a biriyani restaurant on Bailey Road in the capital along with other members of his family, just like many others.They might have finished their meal or not. What is now confirmed is that they would not return home alive Bailey Road fire: Death toll reaches 44Five members of his family including Mubarak died in the fire, Mubarak's cousin Faisal told reporters early Friday.Faisal told reporters at Dhaka Medical College Hospital that Mubarak was schedulef to return to Italy within a month, even though he had been living abroad for a long time. The fire took away everything. 43 dead in Bailey Road infernoThe deceased were Syed Mubarak (42), his wife Swapna (38), daughter Syed Tasfia (17), sons Syed Noor (15) and Syed Abdullah.Expatriate Mubarak's village home is in Shahbazpur village in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria district. PM Hasina expresses shock over Bailey Road building blazeFaisal said that around 8 pm, Mubarak left his home in Dhaka’s Mugda with his wife Swapna and their children. At that time, he had said that they were going to eat at a restaurant called "Kacchi Bhai". They reached there too. But after the fire broke out, they could not be found.Later, their bodies were found in the morgue of DMCH.

The death toll from Thursday night's devastating fire that tore through a commercial building in the capital’s Bailey Road reached 46 on Friday morning. And it may rise further, according to the health minister. “None of the admitted 12 patients are out of danger," Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said while talking to the media at the Shaikh Hasina Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery on Friday morning. Tragedy strikes Italian expat family in Bailey Road Fire All the deaths were due to inhalation of carbon monoxide gas from the fire, he said. "We are providing treatment. I will sit with the doctors and plan how to give better treatment. However, I request everyone not to crowd the hospital. The Prime Minister took responsibility for all the patients. The government will take all measures for the treatment of the injured," added the minister. A total of 35 bodies were handed over to family and relatives, Dhaka Medical College Police Outpost In-Charge Inspector Bachchu Mia confirmed to UNB on Friday morning. ‘What sin have I committed…? Everything is over’, laments a mother over daughter's death Minister of State for Disaster Management and Relief Muhibur Rahman, said Tk 25,000 each would be given to the deceased’s family. Five bodies are yet to be identified, he said. More than 100 people trapped in the fire have been rescued, said Md Arifur Rahman, RAB-3 Deputy Director (Media) on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the Fire Service and Civil Defence formed a five-member committee headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (Operation and Maintenance) to investigate the cause of the fire, said DAD Shahjahan Sikder of FSCD headquarters media cell. President expresses profound grief over Bailey Road building fire The other members of the committee are Fire Service Deputy Director of Dhaka Division Md Saleh Uddin, DAD of the concerned zone, senior station officer and warehouse inspector. The fire broke out at the six-storey building, the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, that housed a number of restaurants, including the very popular Kacchi Bhai, at almost the peak time for dinner, when it was buzzing with patrons. The Fire Service Director General Brigadier General Md Main Uddin said the building had just one shop while the rest of the outlets were all restaurants. Gas cylinders were littered throughout the building, including on the staircase, and they were used for cooking. Any one of them or a gas stove could have exploded and caused the fire. The actual reason will be known after investigation, he maintained. The building also had no fire exit, and Main Uddin said. The building was primed for an accident like this, he added. Shahjadi Sultana, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters control room, said firefighters in association with members of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) brought the flame under control around 11:50 pm, two hours after the ablaze erupted. Earlier bodies of 33 deceased were kept at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and 10 at Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute and one at Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital, Inspector Bacchu Miah, in-charge of DMCH Police Outpost, told UNB on Friday morning.

There are at least 43 dead in the devastating fire that razed through the building housing the Kacchi Bhai outlet on Bailey Road of the capital Dhaka on Thursday night. Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen, confirmed the figure to reporters after 2am on Friday morning. He said there were 33 dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and 10 at Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute.  The death toll from the blazing inferno kept climbing through the night, and is likely to rise further. Earlier Bacchu Miah, in-charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost, told UNB there are 39 confirmed dead bodies at the hospital and at Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute. Dr Alauddin, residential surgeon of the Casualty Block at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), confirmed at least 20 deaths to media early Friday. Several people were rushed to the DMCH from the Bailey Road fire while 20 of them were found dead, the surgeon said. The deceased at the time included five men, 10 women, three children and two unidentified, he said.  Earlier, 12 people were admitted with the DMCH and nine others at at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, confirmed by DMCH’s police outpost in-Charge Md Bachhu Miah. The fire that broke out in ‘Kacchi Bhai Restaurant’ in Bailey Road of the capital Dhaka on Thursday night was brought under control around two hours after it began. Shahjadi Sultana, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters control room, said firefighters in association with members of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) brought the flame under control around 11:50 pm, two hours after the ablaze erupted. As of filing this update around 12:30 am, the firefighters rescued 75 people from the restaurant, she said. Earlier, FSCD’s warehouse inspector Anwarul Islam said the blaze began in ‘Kacchi Bhai Restaurant’ at 9:50 pm.   On information, eight firefighting units from several stations rushed to the spot and were trying to bring the flame under control, he said. Later, four more units were added while members of the police and BGB extended their helping hands to bring the fire under control. The origin of the fire could not be known immediately, the FSCD officer said, adding that details on this matter will be shared later. The Fire Service Director General Brigadier General Md Main Uddin later said the building had just one shop while the rest of the outlets were all restaurants. Gas cylinders were littered throughout the building. Any one of them or a gas stove could have exploded and caused the fire. The actual reason will be known after investigation, he maintained. 

At least 21 people, who sustained burn injuries, were hospitalised after a  blaze raced through a restaurant in Bailey Road of the capital Dhaka on Thursday night. Of them, 12 people have been taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospitla (DMCH) and the rest to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said DMCH’s police outpost in-Charge Md Bachhu Miah. The fire that broke out in ‘Kacchi Bhai Restaurant’ in Bailey Road of the capital Dhaka on Thursday night was brought under control around two hours after it began. Shahjadi Sultana, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters control room, said firefighters in association with members of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) brought the flame under control around 11:50 pm, three hours after the ablaze erupted. As of filing this report around 12:30 am, the firefighters rescued 65 people from the restaurant, she said. Earlier, FSCD’s warehouse inspector Anwarul Islam said the blaze began in ‘Kacchi Bhai Restaurant’ at 9:50 pm.   On information, eight firefighting units from several stations rushed to the spot and were trying to bring the flame under control, he said. Later, four more units were added while members of the police and BGB extended their helping hands to bring the fire under control. The origin of the fire could not be known immediately, the FSCD officer said, adding that details on this matter will be shared later.

The daylong ‘Third International Scientific Conference’ with the participation of 1100 physicians from all over the world including from India, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia concluded in the port city of Chattogram on Thursday. With the theme ‘research for next generation,’ the researchers presented 104 research papers at the event held on Chattogram International Medical College (CIMC) campus. The CIMC and Chattogram International Nursing College and Chattogram International Dental College jointly organised the international conference for the third time. The local and foreign medical scientists underscored the need for research for the development of the health sector in the country. The three institutions have been playing a significant contribution to the medical education and service sector of the country through research and quality education since its establishment, said the speakers. As recognition of their contribution to the health sector, they received special honour from the Health Minister. Chattogram Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Md Ismail Khan inaugurated the daylong event chaired by CIMC Principal Prof Dr Md Tipu Sultan. Conducted by the programme’s organising secretary Dr Meherunnisa Khan, local lawmaker Abdus Salam, Chattogram Medical College Principal Prof Dr Shahana Akter and Bangladesh Medical Association’s Chattogram chapter President Dr Mujibur Hoque Khan, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Some new ministers, state ministers, and deputy ministers  will take oath  Friday. The oath-taking ceremony will be held at Bangabhaban at 7:30 pm, according to a notice issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath taking ceremony.   Details regarding the number and identities of the  new cabinet members remain undisclosed. Twenty-five ministers and 11 state ministers took oath as members of the new cabinet on January 11. Neither any minister, a state minister nor a deputy minister has been appointed to the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.