Time Digital Report: A woman and a child were killed and several others were injured in a fire at a slum in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar early today.
The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.
The fire originated around 2:23 am at Mollabari slum near Film Development Corporation (FDC), said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of the Fire Service and Civil Defence' media cell.
According to information, 13 fire engines doused the blaze around 5:50am, said the warehouse inspector.
Later, the firefighters recovered the two bodies, he added.
Briefing reporters on the spot, Lt Col Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (operations and maintenance) of fire service, said at least 300 shanties were gutted in the fire that left several others injured too.
The rooms are made of bamboo, wood and tin and this is why, the fire spread fast, he said, adding that they dismantled some rooms to contain the flame, he said.
Asked about the reason, the fire official said the fire incidents in slums usually take place mainly due to electric short-circuits or leakage in the gas line.
"We suspect any one of the two reasons here, as slum dwellers have mentioned both possibilities. We will conduct a thorough investigation," he said.
