At least seven people have died and about 50 others have been injured in a fire that engulfed FR Tower in the capital's Banani area.
Hospital authorities have identified one of the dead as a Sri Lankan national.
Some of the injured have been admitted to the Kurmitola General Hospital, said a senior official of the hospital. Many jumped off the burning building to escape the blaze, reports bdnews24.com.
Three Air Force helicopters joined 21 fire service units in their battle against the flames. Army and Navy teams also joined the rescue efforts.
A number of garment buying houses and internet service providers have their offices in the 22-floor building.
People trapped in the upper floors of the building have been breaking windows to call for help.
Mohiuddin was among the anxious crowd in front of the burning building. His brother, Motahar, who works in a buying house on the 14th floor, is trapped in the building with co-workers.
Others in the crowd have expressed grievances with the fire service’s efforts to douse the flames and said that the flames have intensified due to delays by fire service personnel in tackling it.
The building also houses the offices of different business firms, sales centres, restaurants and a convention centre. An estimate of the number of workers at these institutions has yet to emerge.
Shahjalal Islami Bank runs a branch on the building’s third floor. The office of the privately run Queens University is on the adjacent Awal Centre as worries grow about the risk of the fire spreading to adjacent buildings.
The fire service has yet to identify the cause of the fire.
