Bangladesh building fire kills at least 70, toll could climb

  • Fire in Bangladesh capital kills at least 70 people

  • Death toll could rise, says emergency official

  • At least 50 in hospital, some in critical condition

  • Fire started in four-storey building in Old Dhaka

  • Deadly fires common in Bangladesh due to lax regulations

DHAKA: The death toll from a fire in a centuries-old area of the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, jumped dramatically to 70 on Thursday, a fire official said, and could keep climbing as fire fighters combed the wreckage of the destroyed building.

A view of a scene of a fire that broke out at a chemical warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 20, 2019. Photo: Reuters
A view of a scene of a fire that broke out at a chemical warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 20, 2019. Photo: Reuters
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire that broke out at a chemical warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire that broke out at a chemical warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters
A dead body is carried out from a burnt warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters
A dead body is carried out from a burnt warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters
A dead body is carried out from a burnt warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters
A dead body is carried out from a burnt warehouse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters

He said firefighters had struggled to find enough water to fight the blaze and had to draw supplies from a nearby mosque.

The fire is likely to focus attention on lax enforcement of building safety regulations in Bangladesh, where accidents kill hundreds every year.

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013 killed more than 1,100 workers and a fire in a garment factory in 2012 killed 112 people.