On 20 February 2019, a fire broke out in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. The fire started in a road accident between a pickup van and a private car. After the collision, the car's

gas cylinder A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. High-pressure gas cylinders are also called ''bottles''. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapo ...

exploded. The fire then spread to a group of buildings being used to store chemicals, and quickly expanded to nearby buildings in the densely packed historic district of Chowk Bazaar in

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka ( bn, পুরান ঢাকা, Puran Dhaka) is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar ( bn, জাহাঙ্গীরনগ� ...

. The fire left at least 80 people dead and 50 others injured.

Cause

The fire was reported to have originated in the explosion of a cylinder of

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...

in a vehicle, which quickly triggered further fires in buildings and nearby gas cylinders. The blaze was first reported at 22:38, and was reported to be under control by about 03:00. The first building to burn housed shops and a warehouse storing plastic goods, cosmetics and perfume on the first floor, with residential housing on upper stories. It spread to the four-storey building behind the Shahi Mosque. From that building, the fire spread to Rajmoni Restaurant and three other buildings in the narrow alley. An

electric transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's c ...

exploded just after the fire broke out, which demolished several cars parked on the alley. The alley was full of people because of a wedding ceremony in a nearby

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

Casualties

As of 21 February 2019, the death toll was estimated to be at least 80. In addition to those killed, at least 50 people were injured and transported to hospitals with severe burns and lung damage.

Reactions

Abdul Hamid, the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

, and

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

, the

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা ...

, offered their condolences to the victims of the fire, as did Jatiya Party Chairman

HM Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief of Bangladesh, Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh fro ...

and many others. In the aftermath of the fire,

Dhaka South City Corporation Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is one of the two municipal corporations in Dhaka created when the former Dhaka City Corporation (first declared in 1864) was divided into two by the Local Government (City Corporation) Amendment Bill 2011 on ...

Mayor

Sayeed Khokon Sayeed Khokon is a Bangladeshi businessman, politician who's served as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation from 2015 to 2020. His father Mohammad Hanif was Dhaka city's first elected mayor. He is the executive member of Awami League central wo ...

said chemical warehouses would no longer be permitted in the city. Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesperson expressed deep regret. The United States embassy in Dhaka offered its condolences to the victims of the fire via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Financial assistance

The Ministry of Labour and Employment of Bangladesh offered to the family of each deceased victim, and to each of the injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhaka fire, February 2019 2019 disasters in Bangladesh 2019 fires in Asia 2019 road incidents February 2019 fire 2010s road incidents in Asia Building and structure fires in Asia Explosions in 2019 February 2019 fire February 2019 events in Bangladesh February 2019 Restaurant fires Road incidents in Bangladesh Warehouse fires Residential building fires

Cause

Casualties

Reactions

Financial assistance

See also

References