1 dead, 30 rushed to hospital as Bangladeshi high-rise building catches fire

DHAKA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- At least one person has died and 30 others rushed to Hospital as a massive fire engulfed a high-rise BUILDING in Bangladesh capital Dhaka's upmarket Banani Thursday afternoon, a Hospital official said.

The fire at the 22-storey FR Tower housing offices and restaurants started on its seventh floor at around 1:00 p.m. local time on Thursday.

"At least 30 people were rushed to Kurmitola General Hospital," Rashid, a senior official of the Hospital, told journalists.

He said the man died as a result of a fall from one of the upper floors of the commercial BUILDING.

The fire quickly spread to other floors with intense flames and thick black smoke visible.

The Fire Service personnel said they managed to rescue dozens of people trapped in the BUILDING's several upper floors.

Mizanur Rahman, a fire department control room official, told Xinhua that as many as 19 fire-fighting units have been striving to put out the blaze.

It was not clear how many people were inside the BUILDING when it caught fire. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.