Bangladesh Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said that at least 43 people died when a seven-story hi-rise caught fire on Thursday in an upscale neighborhood in the capital, Dhaka.
Sen, who was the country's burn clinic coordinator before becoming health minister, said: "So far 43 people have died from the fire."
Health Minister Sen said some 40 people had been admitted to Dhaka's main burn clinic and that all 22 admitted with severe burns were in critical condition.
Fire began at restaurant and quickly engulfed building
Fire Department officials later said the blaze had started on the ground floor of the building, located on Dhaka's popular Bailey Road, at around 9:50 p.m. (1550 GMT), before quickly spreading through the building, trapping residents on its upper floors.
Residents described harrowing moments in which some climbed down from their apartments using exterior drainpipes, others were injured while jumping to safety and others still were trapped on the roof, having no way to exit through stairwells engulfed in smoke.
Those who fled to the rooftop were eventually rescued by fire and emergency services workers.
Bangladesh's lax fire laws make major blazes regular occurrence
Bangladesh's lax fire codes have become infamous over the years, with major blazes in factories and apartment buildings a regular occurrence.
At least 52 people — including a number of children — were killed in July 2021, for instance, when fire engulfed a food processing plant. And 70 were killed in a Dhaka apartment blaze in February 2019.
