Lalbagh Fire: Six fall ill from smoke inhalation

Six persons, including five of a family, fell ill after inhaling smoke from a fire that broke out at a plastic shop in Dhaka's Lalbagh area yesterday. They were taken to National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

They are: house owner Jakir Hossain, 65, his wife Taslima Hossain, 62, their son Md Rafi, 39, daughter-in-law Tahsin Karim Anika, 30, grandchild Zyna Hossain Afrin, 13 and house help Maksuda Begum, 60.

Fire service officials said the family lived on the second floor of a three-storey building, which housed the plastic shop on the ground floor.

They were at home when the fire originated at the shop around 1:30pm. As black smoke engulfed the building, they took shelter on the roof. Locals rescued them using a ladder from the nearby building, Md Badsha, a neighbour, said.

Rakibul Islam, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said nine firefighting units brought the blaze under control around 3:30pm.