Fire guts hundreds of shops in Bangladesh capital's largest wholesale market

A major fire ravaged a shopping complex at a commercial hub in Bangladesh capital Dhaka's Karwan Bazar, one of the largest wholesale marketplaces, on Sunday night.

Fire and Rescue Services personnel with as many as 22 fire units battled hard for about two hours to bring the fire under control at about 10:00 p.m. (local time).

The fire originated at about 8:00 p.m. local time in the one-story kitchen market housing some 300 wholesale shops, a fire service official told Xinhua.

According to the official, the blaze gutted at least 200 shops in the market complex where groceries and other kitchen goods are regularly distributed throughout Dhaka city after coming in from different parts of the country.

Police evacuated people from the area and many roadside vendors rushed to remove their goods. However, many such vendors, including those selling used vegetables, lost nearly all of their property.

No casualty has so far been reported. Firefighters have not determined the cause of the blaze.

Source: XINHUA