Dhaka, Dec 13: A massive fire erupted early Saturday on the ground floor of Jabal E Nur Tower, a 12-storey mixed-use building in Dhaka’s Babu Bazar area of Keraniganj, prompting a swift rescue operation with no casualties reported.
Fire services received the alert at 5:37 a.m. and deployed 18 units by 5:45 a.m., rescuing at least 42 trapped occupants from the structure housing garment shops, scrap warehouses on lower floors, and residential apartments above. Border Guard Bangladesh assisted in crowd control and responder access, while firefighters broke locks on shops to extinguish flames fueled possibly by basement scrap materials.
The complex features multiple buildings sharing a single basement with limited entry points, complicating efforts amid locked shutters. Officials noted the fire’s cause remains under investigation, though locals suspect stored scrap clothes accelerated the blaze.
This marks Dhaka’s second major high-rise fire in two months, following an October chemical warehouse blaze that killed 16. Bangladesh’s history includes deadly incidents like the 2021 factory fire (52 deaths), 2019 Old Dhaka blaze (67 deaths), 2012 garment factory fire (117 deaths), 2013 Rana Plaza collapse (over 1,100 deaths), and 2010 chemical house fire (123 deaths), often linked to safety violations.
