At least 10,000 people lost their homes in a huge fire that hit a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, authorities said Sunday (August 18th).
The fire broke out in the neighborhood of Mirpur Friday evening, August 16, and devastated 2,000 homes, said AFP spokesman Ershad Hossain.
"I do not know what I will become"
"I have not been able to save anything, I do not know what I will become," said tearful Abdul Hamid, who was running a small stall selling tea in the slum, and the fire department finally managed to take control of it. According to the authorities, there were only a few people injured in the slums, and the slum was populated by many textile workers, many of whom were absent because they had gone to celebrate the Muslim holiday with their families. Eid al-Adha.
Ten thousand people on the street
"Otherwise, the record would have been more serious," said Golam Rabbani, senior official of the local police. About 10,000 homeless people fled wherever they could, including schools that were closed due to school holidays, according to Ershad Hossain. Fires are relatively common in Bangladeshi slums because of the lack of regulation in buildings.