Fire kills 8 slum dwellers in Bangladesh

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – A fire at a slum in southeastern Bangladesh killed at least eight people early on Sunday, emergency officials said.

"We counted eight bodies including four of a family after dousing the blaze," said Jashim Uddin, deputy assistant director of the fire service in Chattogram, a large port city.

Citing slum dwellers, he added, that victims slept after locking the doors, a practice they had adopted in the last couple of weeks to avert theft.

When the fire broke out, they were unable to escape.

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Elius Hossain told Anadolu Agency that people of the crowded slum were living in congested houses where they used gas cylinders, firewood and open electric wiring. They also used candles during power outages.

"Any of this could have caused the fire. We cannot ascertain anything without proper investigation," he said.

A local official said the fire had gutted 200 huts of the slum.

The South Asian nation has pockets of slums, mostly inhabited by migrants from villages who come to cities looking for work, and live in squalid conditions.