Fire Service forms probe body over Mohakhali Khawaja Tower fire

A five-member committee was formed to investigate the deadly fire on Thursday evening that left three people dead and several injured.

Headed by Lt Col Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (Operations and Maintenance) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters, the committee has been asked to submit its report within fifteen working days, said Shahjahan Sikder, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters media cell.

The other members of the committee are: Md Saleh Uddin, deputy director, Dhaka Division (Member Secretary); Md Anwarul Haque, assistant director (Member) ; Md Tanharul Islam, deputy assistant director, Dhaka, Zone-2 (Member); and Md. Nazim Uddin Sarkar, senior station officer, Tejgaon Fire Station (Member).

At least 3 people were dead and several injured in a fire that broke out at 14-storey Khawaja Tower in the capital‍‍`s Mohakhali area on Thursday.

The fire service managed to completely douse the flames after more than 12 hours since the fire broke out on the 13th floor of the building.

“The fire was completely doused at 8:45am on Friday,” Md Shahjahan Shikdar, deputy assistant director (media cell) of Fire Service and Civil Defence told UNB.

The fire has also caused damage to a data centre located in the building and The International Internet Gateway (IIG) causing significant disruption to internet connectivity all over the country.

“It will take at least a week to restore internet speed to normal due to the amount of damage caused by the Khawaja Tower fire incident. And if the devices burn, it may take longer,” Emdadul Haque, President of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) told UNB.