At least 70 die in Bangladesh plastics warehouse fire

At least 70 people have died and dozens more have been injured in a warehouse fire in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka.

It is feared the number of dead could climb further as firefighters continue to search through the wreckage for more victims.

The blaze broke out in the four-storey building on Wednesday night in the Chawkbazar area of Old Dhaka and quickly spread to four neighbouring properties.

Mahfuz Riben, from Dhaka Fire Service and Civil


id="gwmw-15507284475654930402608">Defence said: "Our teams are working there but many of the recovered bodies are beyond recognition. Our people are using body bags to send them to the hospital morgue, this is a very difficult situation."

At least 50 people were taken to hospital, some in a critical condition.

Samanta Lal Sen, head of a burn unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital said at least nine of the critically injured people were being treated in his unit.

It is reported that the warehouse was full of highly flammable material being stored there and firefighters struggled to access adequate water supplies to fight the blaze.