Basundhara City Complex under fire - 7 killed

This picture was taken Just about two hour before fire

It was Friday afternoon in Bangladesh. Thousands of shoppers rushed out of the crowded Bashundhara City shopping complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, when the fire broke out on the top floors of the building. A fire engulfed the top floors. Within 30 minutes firefighters

Just see, Where is fire and where the fire fighters watering?

arrived. But it is very unfortunate that they they were not equipped enough to fight against this massive fire.
Bashundhara City shopping complex is more than 160 feet in height but they could cover only

Bashundhara City is burning

120 feet with their equipment. As a result they couldn’t do anything better other than watching fire works with the hundreds and thousands civilians. Local TV channels covered the story live

Local TV stations are covering the story live

Hundreds and thousands local people are watching

Rescue work by Bangladesh Air force

View from Dhanmondi residential area

on TV. At least 30 injured and 7 died in this massive fire. The cause of the fire was not yet known.

Human chain in front of Bangladesh Rifles headquarters

Activists hold a photo of a grieving woman as they form a human chain in front of Bangladesh Rifles headquarters on March 2 in Dhaka. The Bangladesh military on Tuesday launched its own probe into a savage mutiny by troops against their officers, raising fears of a power struggle between the army and the newly elected civilian government.


Picture:(AFP/Munir Uz Zaman)

Soldiers in gun battle in Bangladeshi capital: Radio New Zealand

Radio New Zealand said , A gun battle has broken out inside the headquarters of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles in the capital Dhaka.
Witnesses said army troops entered the headquarters and also took up positions in nearby areas as a military helicopter hovered overhead. Flames rose from the complex and loud blasts were heard.
"They are firing rifles, machineguns, artillery and all sorts of weapons," said a police officer near the scene.
Traffic came to a halt on nearby streets and panic spread across the capital as reports of the shooting spread. Private television networks said scores of civilians were injured by stray bullets as they ran for cover.
The Defence Ministry issued an appeal to the violent soldiers to put down their guns. "Please end the indiscipline and violent activities immediately, drop your guns and return to the barracks. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will herself listen to your demands and meet them as much possible," it added, without specifying the nature of the demands.
Ms Hasina's party won an election in December and took over from a military-backed interim government, raising hopes that Bangladesh, which has a long record of political violence and military coups, was moving toward democracy and stability.

News Source:http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/02/25/12459ebc91f8

Photo Source:AFP/File

Gun battle in Bangladesh capital

A gun battle has broken out inside the headquarters of the Bangladesh border guards in the capital, Dhaka, police and TV reports say.

There are no reports of any casualties yet in the gunfight at the Bangladesh Rifle headquarters, officials say.
"There has been a huge exchange of gunfire at the headquarters. We have heard mortar fire," local police chief Nabojit Khisa told the AFP news agency.
Mr Khisa said police were not being allowed to enter the complex.
The Bangladesh Rifles headquarters is located in the Pilkhana area of Dhaka.
The BBC's Mark Dummett, in Dhaka, says that according to reporters at the scene, the clashes are between officers and soldiers of the paramilitary force, which protects the country's borders.
One report said that the gun battle coincided with a meeting of senior Bangladesh Rifles officers.
Our correspondents says that some local TV channels are speculating that it is a mutiny by soldiers over a pay dispute.
Reports say that smoke is coming out of the complex and security forces have cordoned off the area.
There is no information yet on casualties, but reporters say some civilians walking past the camp have been hit.
There are unconfirmed reports that soldiers have also opened fire on a helicopter patrolling above the camp, where the fighting is taking place, our correspondent says.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7909323.stm

Al-Jazeera Said, A fierce gun battle has broken out inside the headquarters of Bangladesh's border security force in the capital Dhaka, police say.
"There has been a huge exchange of gunfire at BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) headquarters complex this morning. We have heard mortar fire," Nabojit Khisa, a local police chief, said on Wednesday
"The gunfire is still going on. We are not allowed to enter," he added, declining to comment on speculation that the cause of the fighting was a mutiny within the force. The Bangladesh Rifles are headquartered in the Bangladeshi capital's Pilkhana area.
Nicholas Haque, reporting for Al Jazeera from Dhaka, said there had been heavy fighting since the morning. "The fighting broke out, apparently, this morning during a meeting between junior and senior officers. There is panic on the streets right now. No-one is clear about what's happening," he said. "They [a suspected paramilitary group] are shooting into civilian crowds around them.... it's a very terrible reminder of what happened years ago when there was a coup. "Fighting continues in the compound. There is no security, no police, there is no-one outside the compound... there are just civilians... apart from the army pointing their guns towards civilians."Bangladesh has had a history of military coups and uprisings.Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's first elected president and the father of Sheikh Hasina, the country's currrent prime minister, was killed along with several of his family members in 1975.The country, which secured its independence from Pakistan in 1971, has also experienced long stretches of military rule.