by Naim-Ul-Karim
DHAKA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Hours after a devastating fire, the Chawkbazar area in the ancient part of Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has been emitting a burning smell reminding what horrendous disaster happened there Wednesday night.
Narrow old Dhaka alleys also bore wounds of the horrific fire devastation with ashes, burning materials and dirty water overflowing drains.
Situation seemed grimmer in burn wound units of public hospitals which were overwhelmed with victims and their relatives.
The blaze that burned through a number of buildings on Wednesday night has claimed lives of at least 81 people and injured 41 others.
Of those injured, doctors said one was in very critical condition. Following the tragedy, doctors were woken up from their sleep to treat patients at corridors and emergency rooms.
Heart-breaking scenes were seen at the lawns of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as hundreds of relatives gathered there since Wednesday night to take home their relatives who died in the fire.
Many of the bodied charred beyond recognition have been taken to the DMCH morgue.
"Where are my brothers? let me see them. I've come to take them home," a woman who lost her two brothers was crying at the hospital, sitting beside relatives.
Within a short time, everything finished, said a crying man who also came to the hospital in search of his relatives.
Apart from relatives of the fire victims, many people from across the city as well as government officials also rushed to the hospitals and the fire site to offer consolation to the bereaved family members.
Hundreds of local and foreign journalists were also there to cover the tragic event.
Mahfuz Riven, a duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, told Xinhua that the fire, triggered by an explosion of a gas cylinder, quickly spread into a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of a five-storey building and tore through a row of crowded buildings in the city's Chawkbazar area.
Abdul Alim, a local resident, said he bought a bread from a restaurant located in one of the razed buildings just before the fire broke out with a big explosion.
"Shortly after reaching home I heard a big sound and subsequently noticed it's flaming outside. We left home feeling hit of the blaze," said Alim.
At the burning site, firefighters could be seen on Thursday afternoon with continued efforts to fully extinguish the burning materials.
The 400-year-old congested market place is one of the most famous business and social meeting centers of Dhaka.
Abdur Rahim, an eye-witness, told Xinhua at the scene that the inferno broke out to the entire area within a short time after the explosion, keeping no scope for many to escape for safe place.
"I can't explain to you now what a horrendous situation it was then in this area," he said.
The building, where the fire originated, housed some shops on the ground floor and families on the other floors. The flames quickly spread through three other buildings nearby, including a community center.
In Bangladesh, poorly constructed buildings have long been the source of such kind of accidents.
The latest tragedy has been the second deadly fire to strike the capital after another blaze in old Dhaka that ripped about six buildings, killing at least 124 people in June 2010.
