FIRE KILLS TEN AT BANGLADESH BEACH RESORT

Ten people died in a fire at Tuptup Resto and Resort in Inani, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, on Saturday, according to local authorities. Six of those killed were members of the same family, and children were among the dead, authorities said. The fire began at about 6.30am local time, according to Mohammad Atikur Rahman Majumder, chief of Ukhiya Police Station. Syed Mohammad Morshed Hossain, a district official with Fire Service and Civil Defence, said flames spread quickly through the three-storey wooden resort. Officials had not established the cause of the fire.

Around 30 people were believed to have been at the resort when the fire began. Fire crews responded, while police officers supported the rescue operation, according to the local accounts. The local fire service said nine people suffered injuries and went to hospital. Authorities had identified six of the ten people who died. Sabuktagin Mahmud Sohel, resident medical officer at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, said five casualties had burns covering about 5% of their bodies.

Authorities said Tuptup Resto and Resort had operated without a fire safety licence after receiving an official warning in June. Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md A Mannan said officials had formed a five-member committee to investigate the fire’s cause. The Additional District Magistrate will head the committee, Mannan said. Officials had not announced its findings or identified a cause.