A fire broke out at a multistoried building in Dhaka's Banani area yesterday. 16 firefighting units rushed to spot put out the flames. The construction, 'Bashati Horizon Tower' on Road 17 at Banani, is an 18-storey building which is occupied by offices of private organizations. An employee of a travel agency whose offices are in the building said they suspect the fire started on the ground floor and travelled upward through the electric wires. A curious crowd gathered as a black cloud of smoke began emanating from the fire. Some even took to their Facebook accounts, posting live updates, photos and videos of the unfolding situation.
Facebook user Shahrukh Pikul wrote on his account that there was a lot of smoke even though the fire was relatively small. The fire trucks took 40-45 minutes to arrive, he said. Many people inside the building fled to the roof in fear, others leapt over the railing to neighboring buildings. However, the fire service could not confirm the cause of the fire.