Massive fire engulfs 1,500 shacks and displaces thousands of families in the heart of Dhaka.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

A massive fire broke out in the Korail slum area of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, destroying about 1,500 shacks and displacing thousands of residents, in one of the largest fires the city has witnessed this year. Authorities reported on Wednesday that no deaths have been recorded so far, despite the large scale of destruction. Rashid bin Khaled, an official in the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, said that firefighters managed to control the fire after continuous efforts that lasted 16 hours since it broke out on Tuesday evening, noting that the narrow alleys and the density of houses made of flammable materials increased the difficulty of dealing with the flames. The Korail area is one of the most densely populated slums in Dhaka, with nearly 60,000 families, including families previously displaced by the effects of climate change, living on an area of more than 160 acres in the heart of the crowded capital. Activists on social media platforms also circulated footage showing flames engulfing adjacent homes, along with scenes of firefighting operations involving multiple units, in a scene reflecting the extent of the losses caused by the fire in one of the largest unplanned residential areas in the city.