Massive fire guts 1,500 shanties in Bangladesh capital

A massive fire has tore through one of the largest slums in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, destroying some 1,500 shanties and leaving thousands of people homeless.

Md Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector (Media Cell) of Fire Service Headquarters, told Xinhua Wednesday that the fire erupted at around 5:22 p.m. local time Tuesday and it soon engulfed an area with thousands of shanties in the slum.

He said firefighters finally extinguished the devastating fire after nearly 16 hours of efforts on Wednesday morning.

The slum, called Korail, in Dhaka's Tejgaon industrial area, is home to hundreds of residents.

According to the officer, "more than 1,500 shanties made of scrap sheet iron, plastic and cardboard were destroyed fully or partially in the fire."

The officer said they have not yet determined the exact cause of the blaze. No casualties were reported.

xinhua