Bangladesh: 17 killed, many injured as explosion rocks Dhaka building

 Eleven firefighting units, comprising 200 firemen, were mobilised at the spot after the blast, which occurred around 4:50 pm (local time) at Old Dhaka’s crowded Gulistan area, the fire service control room said. “Sixteen bodies have been found (so far), but the toll could rise as the rescue operation is underway,” a fire service official told reporters.One person succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, raising the toll to 17.

“Most of the deaths were caused by brain hemorrhage,” Health Minister Zahid Maleque said. The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately, but local residents suspected chemicals illegally stored inside the building, mostly used as an office and business complex, might have sparked the blast. Several people have been trapped under the rubble of the building. “We have to cut through the concrete to rescue them. The fire service is working on it,” an official said. “We cannot confirm yet if the blast was the outcome of any sabotage. But our bomb disposal unit along with military and police bomb disposal teams are working,” said RAB director general M Khurshid Hossain.

The building has several stores for sanitary products on the bottom floor and a branch of BRAC Bank was located in the building adjacent to it. The blast shattered the glass walls of the bank and also damaged a bus standing on the opposite side of the road, reports said. The police believe it was an accident not a case of sabotage but said they will investigate that possibility, according to Dhaka Tribune newspaper. Fire officials said the blast occurred on the ground floor and the first two floors of the building were badly damaged.