A fire broke out at S Alam Refining Sugar Industries Limited at Isanagar in Karnaphuli upazila of Chattogram on Monday.
Shoaib Hossain Munshi, warehouse inspector of Karnaphuli Fire Service, said the fire broke out at the sugar mill, owned by S Alam group, around 4 pm and spread soon.
On information, 10 firefighting units rushed to the spot and are trying to tame the blaze.
The ferocity of the blaze has posed significant challenges to the firefighters, as they struggle tirelessly to gain control over the raging flames. The precise cause of the fire remains unknown, leaving authorities to speculate on its origins.
Amidst the chaos and destruction, there have been no reports of casualties thus far. However, the extent of damage to property and infrastructure is yet to be assessed fully.
Local residents and bystanders have been urged to exercise caution and cooperate with emergency services personnel as they work diligently to bring the situation under control.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep shock over the loss of lives due to the fire at Dhaka Bailey Road that has claimed 46 lives so far.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Modi expressed his heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in the fire at the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in Dhaka.
He also wished speedy recovery to those injured.
In the letter dated 1 March, the Indian Prime Minister further affirmed that his country stands with Bangladesh in this hour of grief, and his thoughts and prayers remain with her and the friendly people of Bangladesh.
Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen today said at least 46 people were killed in the devastating fire in a commercial building at Bailey Road area in the capital on Thursday night.
"The death toll in the deadly inferno originated in a multi-storey commercial building in city Bailey Road last night reached 46...even the condition of the injured people, now undergoing treatment at hospitals, are critical", he told journalists at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery here this morning.
The minister, himself a doctor and burn wound specialist, said 22 people were being treated at both the facilities.
He added that the conditions of all the 22 people are critical.
Doctors at the DMCH and the adjacent facility said that some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and feared the death toll could rise.
Fire service officials said they salvaged some 75 people, including 42 in an unconscious state from the scene, a seven-storey building.
The fire broke out at around 9:50pm on Thursday night at a restaurant called “Kachchi Bhai” located on the first floor (US: 2nd floor) and quickly spread upstairs where some more restaurants and a readymade garments shop were housed.
Witnesses and officials said the panicked people tried to rush upstairs to be chased by the blaze as well while the firefighters rescued many of them using ladders.
Power tariff will be increased from February 1 instead of March 1, said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Thursday (February 29, 2024).
Gazette notification will be issued today in regard to the power tariff adjustment, he said while briefing reporters at his ministry.
Earlier he said the new tariff will come into effect from March 1.
He said the power tariff will be hiked between Tk 0.34 and Tk 0.70 per unit for all kinds of consumers depending on their volume of consumption while gas price will go up by Tk 0.75 per unit only for power plants.
He also said that a dynamic fuel pricing will be introduced for the consumers from March 1 under which price of petroleum fuel will go up and down in line with international market price.