There were no casualties reported so far in the fire, which began in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but army personnel had been called in to help after flames spread rapidly in the cramped, crowded area of Bangabazar, home to the country's famed cloth markets.
Most of the shops were burnt to ashes in the fire, but there was no information on whether any people were trapped inside, given that the fire broke in the early hours of the morning before most shops had opened, Khalid said. "I have never seen such a fire in my life. Everything in my shop was burnt down," Abdul Mannan said while talking to his relatives on his phone as he broke down in tears.