Khawja Tower Death Toll Hits 3

Rescuers have found two bodies inside Khawaja Tower after a fire incident at the 14-storey building in Mohakhali, taking the death toll in the incident to three.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel found Rafiqul Islam and Aklima Rahman nearly seven hours after the fire broke out around 5pm on Thursday (October 26).

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared dead Rafiqul, an engineer at Saif Powertec which has its office on the 13th floor of the building, when the firefighters took him there at midnight, said Inspector Bachchu Mia at the hospital’s police camp.

His younger son Samiul was waiting outside the building for his missing father at night. Samiul said Rafiqul had called Samiul’s elder brother around 5:30pm and told him to bring water after the fire started.

Aklima, an employee of Race Online on the eighth floor, was still missing when the rescuers found Rafiqul.

Mostafizur Rahman, chief of Banani Police Station, said the firefighters found Aklima on the 10th floor later and brought her down in a body bag after midnight.

Her brother Riasat Rahman said she had called a relative and sought help in the afternoon.

Earlier, Hasna Hena, 27, another employee of Race Online, died after falling during a desperate attempt to escape the fire by using a cable in the afternoon.

The fire service said they rescued eight people alive until 9pm.