Newsman: An explosion in a seven-story commercial building in Bangladesh’s capital on Tuesday killed at least 17 people and injured dozens, officials said.
The United News of Bangladesh agency reported that people on the upper floors were trapped for hours after the explosion.
Brig. Gen. Main Uddin, director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, said they could not enter the ground floor and they had no clear data if anybody was trapped.
He said that it was not possible to get to the ground floor as the building became very risky because the columns that hold up the building had collapsed.
He said they would take help from the military after the search and rescue operation begins on Wednesday morning.
The explosion occurred in Gulistan, a busy commercial area of Dhaka, fire department official said. At least 11 fire department teams were working at the scene of the explosion.
The building contained several stores selling plumbing products and household items, and its first two floors were badly damaged, according to fire officials.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but some reports said the explosion happened from accumulated gas.
The state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital official at said more than 50 people were taken there for treatment, and at least 14 of them were dead. The others later died from their injuries, he said. Local media reported at least 100 people were injured in the blast.
