Staff Reporter :At least 32 shanties were gutted in a fire at the Shat-tola slum in the city’s Mohakhali and left at least 15 people with burns, including a man and his son on Friday morning.Of them, two were identified as Abu Baker, 55, and his son Kawsar, 20. They were admitted to the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), said Fire Service official sources.Inspector Mohammad Ali of Fire Service Control Room said, the fire originated from electric short circuit around 5:10am and it soon burned down the 32 shanties and nine shops of the slum. On information, seven firefighting units rushed to the spot and doused the fire after two hours of frantic efforts. “We rushed to the spot following the news of the fire around 5:00am,” the Fire Service official said.At least shanties have been gutted, and slum-dwellers put the losses to somewhere around Tk 1.5 million,” he said.He added that an electrical short-circuit in one of the shanties was being primarily thought to be the cause of the fire. Locals claimed at least 15 people were burnt after failing to get out in time amidst panic and chaos.
