Most of the people, who lost their lives in the inferno at the commercial building on Bailey Road in the capital, met their tragic end due to suffocation caused by black smoke billowing after the devastating blaze.
As many as 46 people died and scores of others were injured in the inferno that engulfed the seven-storied Green Cozy Cottage, housing mostly restaurants, on one of the busiest roads in the capital.
Hospital sources said that most of the victims did not have any burn injuries. Although there was a sign of burn injuries on some bodies, those were not so critical, they said.
Then what was the reason behind such a large number of deaths. Physicians contributed inhalation of carbon monoxide to the deaths after the fire.
Health minister Samanta Lal Sen said that most of the victims died from suffocation caused by carbon monoxide.
“Carbon monoxide has been found in the most of the bodies. When a fire breaks out in a confined room, smoke created there, goes into the respiratory passage of a person. The same thing happens here,” he told reporters after visiting Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
Firefighters sent the victims to the institute after rescuing them.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Main Uddin told sign of burn injuries in the bodies.
They (the victims), in fact, has been affected by the black smoke,” he told reporters on early Friday. reporters that there was a little
In the wake of the Bailey Road inferno, Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen has called for stringent action by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and the Public Works Ministry to avert such catastrophes in future.
Another fire broke out at Gausul Azam Super Market at Nilkhet area on Saturday afternoon.
“Rajuk and the Public Works Ministry must adopt a proactive stance to avert recurrence of such a tragedy,” Dr Sen said.
He stressed that the authorities concerned should conduct thorough inspection to identify the buildings at risk of fire. By doing so, Dr Sen believes, the frequency of fire incidents can be significantly reduced in the future.
Meanwhile, police have filed a case against Amin Mohammad Group and three individuals in connection with the deadly fire.
Amin Mohammad Group is the owner of the seven-storied building. The other three accuses are Anwarul Haque, 29, the owner of ‘Chumuk’ fast food, where the fire originated, Munshi Hamimul Alam Bipul, 40, the manager of the building, and Sohel Siraj, 34, the owner of ‘Kacchi Bhai’ restaurant.
Visiting the spot, investigators are collecting samples to unearth the reasons behind the fire.
They said that an electric short circuit or a leaky gas pipe at a ground floor cafe was most likely the cause of the fire.
A member of a probe committee formed by the fire service said that on the ground floor, plastic pipes were used for gas transmission, which is illegal.
The bomb disposal team of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of police also visited the scene.
Its chief Rahmat Ullah Chowdhury said, “Power cables in the entire building are burnt. This usually happens when power lines short out and cause a fire.”
The cables did not have the capacity to supply power to the seven restaurants and many other shops, he told reporters.
When asked how the city corporation could give licenses to restaurants and business entities in an unplanned building like this, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor told media that trade licenses had been updated here. There has been no deviation.
“Deviations were in constructing the building. If there are more than five stories in a building, there must be two staircases. It was not followed here,” he said.
The mayor said, “Comprehensive implementation and management of the building codes are essential to prevent extensive loss of life and property. Dhaka South City Corporation is adopting a rigorous policy.”
“Dhaka South City Corporation has drafted a policy that mandates obtaining permission from the city corporation before constructing or renovating buildings. This policy has been submitted to the government for approval,” he added.