A 65-year-old man died and 17 others suffered injuries in a fire that broke out on the ground floor of a five-storey building in Dhaka鈥檚 Nazimuddin Road early Monday.
The deceased was known as Amin Uddin.
Confirming the death, Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost in-charge Md Faruk said that 18 people injured in the fire were brought to the DMCH burn unit while Amin among them was declared dead by the doctors on duty.
鈥楽ome of the injured were released after they received first aid. Eight of the injured were kept under observation at the hospital as they suffered from smoke inhalation,鈥� he added.
Those under observation were Shakib, 22, Momtaz Begum, 55, Bulbul, 37, Shilpi, 42, Ahalan, 4, Iqbal, 47, Mushfika, 25, and Ruhul Amin, 26.
The fire broke out at a furniture shop on the ground floor of a five-storey building on Nazimuddin Road near the Makodrosha Shrine at around 4:15am on Monday, said Khairul Islam Rony, station officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence.
The blaze was completely extinguished following nearly an hour of efforts by seven units of the fire service, he said.
鈥楶rimarily it was suspected that the fire originated from a loose electrical connection. The exact reason could be known after an investigation,鈥� added the FSCD station officer.