At least 44 people have died in a fire at a multi-story shopping center in Bangladesh. The victims were mostly restaurant guests, a fire department spokesman said that night.
The cause of the fire was initially unclear. Police Chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun announced an investigation. Given the lack of fire safety precautions, major fires with many injuries and deaths in multi- story buildings are not uncommon in Bangladesh, as is the case in this case. Some were able to climb down a water pipe on the outside of the building and just escape.