At least 114 people were killed in a fire that razed a crowded, centuries-old Dhaka neighbourhood overnight as rescue workers scrambled on Friday to pull bodies, many charred beyond recognition, from smouldering debris.

The blaze was the worst to sweep through the Bangladeshi capital in almost four decades.

"The confirmed death toll from the fire is now 114 and may rise," Muhibul Haque, district commissioner of Dhaka, told Reuters. He said more than 40 people were being treated for burns in hospital, with 12 in critical condition.

Fuelling the flames, which some witnesses said rose up to six-storeys high, were chemicals from illegal, home-based factories in the Kayettuli neighbourhood, one of the most densely populated in Dhaka and in the heart of the city.

"It seemed like hell broke loose," said a wailing woman, looking for her daughter and son in what remained of the area, home to several multi-storey blocks and tin-roofed dwellings. Some had been turned into chemical factories despite a law banning their presence in residential areas.

"Burning chemicals from stores within or beside the living quarters spewed on the streets like lava from a volcano. There was hardly any safe place to step out," added one survivor.

Television channels put the death toll at up to 150, including a dozen people who died in hospital.

The country's police chief, Nur Mohammad, said it was difficult to give an exact casualty toll until search and rescue operations were finished, likely on Friday afternoon.

RESIDENTS TRAPPED IN BURNING BUILDINGS

Some families lost up to eight members, witnesses said, and many residents were trapped trying to rush out of buildings.

"Flames leapt up to the sixth floor of buildings. It was a huge inferno," said a Reuters witness.

The blaze, believed to have been caused by an explosion at a electrical transformer, was the worst in the capital since 1971, the fire brigade said.

"I never have had such a harrowing experience in my 40 years here," said a doctor at the burns unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, as patients crammed the corridors and sobbing relatives searched for loved ones.

Hospitals, strained by the high casualty toll, began handing back corpses to relatives able to identify them. "Some of the bodies lying in the morgue are charred beyond identification," one police officer said..

Firefighters said narrow streets and the density of the buildings hampered access and the chemicals in the area helped the fire spread quickly.

The government has ordered an investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Jahangir Kabir Nanak, State Minister for local government, said the lack of proper fire escapes in many buildings contributed to the high death toll. "We should have better planned homes and wider roads to save lives," he said.

The government declared Saturday a day of mourning and said it would pay 20,000 taka (197 pounds) towards the cost of each burial. "I have no words to console them," said Home Minister Sahara Khatun while visiting the hospital late on Thursday.

REUTERS

Fire fighters from the Federal and Lagos State Fire Services, who on 19 March, 2010 spent almost four hours fighting a fire at the Police Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos State, said the lack of fire prevention training by the police contributed to the fire which razed the exhibit unit, monitoring unit and surveillance section of the command.

‘Highly ignorant’

A fire superintendent attached to the Federal Fire Service, who did not want to be named, said the police did not have fire fighting equipment within its premises. He said if the police had fire extinguishers along with fire sensors and sprinklers, the damage of the fire, which razed substantial police evidence and documents, would have being minimal.

“The Police are highly ignorant of what fire precaution is about. They didn’t even have a single fire extinguisher, no fire prevention equipment, nothing. They have never called us to put them through basic fire precaution drill. We just thank God there was no casualty because they don’t even have any first aid,” said the superintendent.

Collateral damage

Assessing the damage of the fire which started at about 11am, the federal controller of works, Ejike Mgbemena, said the fire, which burned directly below the Five Cowry Bridge linking Victoria Island and Onikan, would have some negative impact on the bridge.

“From the look of things, it looks severe,” he said. “It is likely that the fire will affect the structure of the bridge negatively. We believe it is serious. We are working with Julius Berger and in some few hours we will be placing restrictions on the bridge as precaution measures.”

Some police officers NEXT spoke with gave various accounts of the cause of the fire. While some said the fire was caused by an electrical fault, others said the fire was triggered by flame from a food vendor’s stove that caught an electrical wire close to the exhibit room.

Under investigation

However, Azubuko Udah, who is the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, which oversees Lagos and Ogun States, said the cause of the fire is still being investigated. He said the situation could have being worse if not for the intervention of the fire services with additional support from some private companies which brought their fire service trucks.

“I was just alerted of the fire as I was away at a meeting. The cause of the fire is still being investigated and I will liaise with my men to know what happened. But I thank God because it could have been worse if not for the fire service that checkmated the incident and put out the fire,” he said.