Two people were killed in a fire that broke out at a multi-storey building in the Katabon area on Elephant Road in the capital early Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Abdus Salam, 20, and Johny, 24. The blaze erupted at Al-Baraka Tower at around 1:00am.
Assistant Director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Kazi Nasimuzzaman said the agency received information about the fire at 1:05am. Six firefighting units brought the blaze under control by 3:08am.
He said the two victims were rescued from the building and taken to hospital, where they were declared dead. The Fire Service official said the building lacked a fire protection system and that office spaces had been set up in what was originally a residential building in violation of regulations. He added that the exact cause of the fire would be determined after an investigation.
A staff member of one of the law chambers in the building said the fire originated on the floor housing several lawyers' chambers. The two victims reportedly called for help on their mobile phones after becoming trapped, but no further contact could be established.
Md Nazmul and Sarwar, who took the victims to hospital, said the fire spread rapidly across the upper floors of the building, leaving the two men with severe burns and smoke inhalation.
Abdus Salam was declared dead at the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while Johny died after being taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
According to them, Abdus Salam was the son of Md Selim Sarkar of Bara Bhadahar village in Bogura's Kahalu upazila. He worked as an office assistant to International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman.
Johny was the son of Babul Mia of Babundia village in Kishoreganj Sadar and worked as a clerk for Barrister Moaz, son of former adviser Hasan Arif.
Following the incident, Prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman alleged that his law chamber had been deliberately set on fire.
He said his chamber was located in Apartment D-1 on the 12th floor of the 14-storey building, where three of the four apartments were being used as law chambers.
According to him, his office assistant Abdus Salam called him at 12:47am to inform him about the fire. However, CCTV footage from a camera installed outside the chamber is unavailable after 12:27am, with the recording system displaying "No Record" from that time.
