Dhaka tower blaze was murder, says Bangladesh minister

A HIGH-RISE commercial building in Dhaka where a blaze yesterday killed at least 25 people lacked proper fire exits, government officials said, prompting a senior minister to describe the incident as "murder".

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of Thursday's (28) fire, in which at least seven people, including a Sri Lankan, died after jumping off the 22-storey structure in one of the world's most densely congested cities.

"There were no proper fire exits in the building that houses many offices and several restaurants," Julfikar Rahman, director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, said.

"It the building had proper fire exits, people would have been able to come out. There was little fire-fighting equipment in the building, and it was not in working condition."

At just two feet (0.6 m) and four feet (1.2 m) wide, the building's two exits were too narrow for people inside to leave smoothly and they were blocked by obstructions that made the task harder, he added.

Some of those stuck inside made it to safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but others took their chances and jumped in a bid to escape the smoke and heat. Six people leaped to their deaths.

It was not possible to ascertain who owns the building, and a telephone number for the purported owner was switched off.

The Dhaka development authority said it was investigating how the owner, who had permission only to build 18 stories, managed to extend them to 22.

"It's not an accident, it's murder," public works and housing minister Rezaul Karim told reporters after visiting the site, where firefighters combed through the ashes.

"Legal action will be taken against those responsible for violating the building code, no matter how powerful they are."

Helicopters had joined 22 firefighting units in battling the fire, along with police and armed forces, as some of those trapped in the building waved desperately for help from its windows and roof.

Firefighters backed by military specialists - some in helicopters - tackled the flames, lowering ropes to help people escape, while rescuers on long ladders smashed through windows.

But fire fighters were hampered by not having ladder cranes big enough to reach the top floors, officials said.

The fire was later extinguished and on Friday fire fighters completed the process of combing through the gutted and blackened floors of the building.

The fire department initially put the death toll at 19 but police said today that six more had perished. Another was in a critical state in hospital.

There was no immediate indication if others are missing, but more than 70 people were treated in hospital in the wake of the blaze.

Fire brigade official Saleh Uddin said the fire department had sent several notices to the building to "implement fire safety measures in the building," but the owner did not comply.

"There were no sprinklers. Fire exits existed only in name," fire department director Shakil Newaj said.

The mayor of Dhaka north, Atiqul Islam, promised a "zero tolerance" policy in building safety, especially in high-rise buildings.

According to a 2012 study by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, most high-rise buildings in 15-million-strong Dhaka have inadequate fire safety measures.

"We found only two buildings fully compliant," BUET professor Mehedi Ahmed Ansari said of the survey on 112 buildings, adding that some they looked at were little more than "death traps".

(AFP, Reuters)