Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman
A recent blaze incinerated the Gulshan 1 market during the early hours of Tuesday. The market which consists of stores from groceries, meat markets, to toy stores and clothing shops has been a part of the Gulshan 1 circle since the 1960’s.
The fire started at around 2:00 AM and took 16 hours to extinguish. According to the night duty officers, the fire was caused by the explosion of a transformer. The aftermath of the disaster left about 300 stores out of commission and caused a large portion of the market to collapse. Eyewitnesses reported that the collapsed portion inclined at 4:00 AM and completely collapsed around 8:00 AM. By 5:45 PM the flames were under control; it took 100 firefighters from 22 units, along with the efforts of 2 navy units, to carefully handle the situation.
Firefighters struggled to control the flames and were unable to find adequate water sources. The Daily Star spoke to Major Shakil Newaj, who explained that there was no water source nearby which made initial attempts difficult. Furthermore, they were required to take water from Gulshan Lake located 700 meters away from the market.
With over 500 stores, the damage is estimated to be several hundred crores. Only a few of the store-owners were able to recover some of their merchandise.
As reported by the Daily Sun, a five-member probe committee has been assigned in order to investigate the cause of the fire.
