Major fire in Dhaka destroys dozens of houses, several left homeless

Dhaka: A fire broke out in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Sunday which destroyed almost a hundred homes.

The blaze broke out in a property in the Agargaon area of Dhaka and soon spread through the entire shantytown, fire fighters said.

According to local media there were no casualties reported, but more than 500 people lost their homes.

As panicked residents hurried to save their belongings, fire fighters battled to extinguish the blaze.

Many residents said they lost all their belongings in the fire.

"I earn my livelihood cooking food for some workers. I bought my household things with my meagre salary," lamented one woman. "I have no other place to live. Whatever I had was all in that house. Now everything is gone."

Fire officials said it took more than an hour to bring the blaze under control. Its cause remained unknown.

Bangladesh's State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, said an investigation into the cause of the fire would be carried out.