A massive fire that ripped through a seven-storey shopping mall in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka that also housed several illegal eateries killed at least 46 people and injured 22 others, the government said on Friday, in one of the worst infernos to hit the country in recent years. The fire broke out around 9:50 pm on Thursday at a popular restaurant named “Kacchi Bhai” on the first floor of the building, Green Cozy Cottage, and quickly spread to the upper floors that had more restaurants and a garment shop, according to fire service officials.

Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said around 2 am that 33 bodies were brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 others to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Another victim died at the Police Hospital.

The condition of those injured is “critical”, he told reporters at a briefing.

“One more person died during treatment in the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical ICU this morning. A total of 46 people have died so far,” Sen said on Friday.

Currently, 10 people are undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina burn unit and two at DMCH, he said.

Till now, the bodies of 39 people have been identified. Of them, at least 31 bodies of the victims have been handed over to families without an autopsy. Till now, the identities of six bodies remain unknown. The authorities will hand them over after conducting a DNA test.

 The commercial building that was gutted did not have permission for restaurants, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The building had permission for office use, not restaurants and eateries, according to Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk). But the building housed eight restaurants, a juice bar and a tea and coffee shop, the report said.

Ashraful Islam, Town Planner and Director of the Detailed Area Planning (DAP) project of Rajuk, said commercial approval had been taken for the building from one to seven floors. But it was only for office use. There was no approval for restaurants, showrooms or anything else.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is closely monitoring the fire incident at the commercial building, the Health Minister said.

She noted that the multi-storied building had no fire exit. She urged all to follow the rules and regulations while constructing any building.

Hasina said that 46 people died in the Bailey Road fire incident.

“What could be more painful than this,” she said. Fire officials said 75 people, including 42 in unconscious state, were taken out of the seven-storey building. Thirteen fire service units were mobilised, the officials said.

The minister, a burn wound specialist, said 22 people are being treated at both health facilities and their condition is “critical”.

“The respiratory system of those who have survived so far has been seriously damaged,” Sen told reporters at the DMCH.

Doctors said some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and feared that the death toll could rise.

Witnesses and officials said to escape the fire, people rushed to the upper floors. Many were rescued by firefighters using ladders, they added.

IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun in a press briefing said that 44 people died and 75 had been rescued. Some of the rescued individuals received first aid treatment before returning home safely.

He also said the dead victims included the daughter of a police officer.

Fire Service DG Moin said the 42 unconscious included 21 women and four children.

“It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases,” he said. He believes the fire originated from a gas leak or stove. The building has only one exit - the staircases, according to him.

Most of the people died as they jumped off the building or from burns or suffocation, said firefighters who brought the fire under control around 12.30 am.

The first death was reported around 1 am when the firefighters took the bodies one by one to a freezing truck waiting outside the building, local media reported.

A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

Fires in apartment buildings and factory complexes are common in Bangladesh due to lax enforcement of safety rules.

As many as 102 people were killed and 281 others sustained burn injuries in 27,624 fire incidents across the country in 2023, according to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.

According to the Fire Service statistics, most of the fire incidents originated from electric short circuits, burning cigarettes, ovens and leakage of gas pipelines.

In July 2021, at least 52 people including many children were killed when a fire swept through a food processing factory.

In February 2019, 70 people died when an inferno ripped through several Dhaka apartment blocks.