Fire guts hundreds of shops in Bangladesh capital's kitchen market

DHAKA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A fire gutted hundreds of shops in a kitchen market at BANGLADESH capital Dhaka's Gulshan area on Saturday, destroying goods and property, said a firefighter.

A total of 20 fire units battled hard for about two hours to bring the fire under control at about 8:35 a.m. local time.

BANGLADESH Army, BANGLADESH Navy personnel and shopkeepers joined the efforts to bring the fire under control.

The fire originated at about 5:00 a.m. local time in the one-story kitchen market called "DNCC market," housing some 350 shops, a fire service official told Xinhua.

According to the official, the blaze gutted at least 300 shops in the market complex where groceries and other kitchen goods are sold.

No casualty has so far been reported. The market was not open for business at the time of the fire broke out.

Firefighters have not determined the cause of the blaze.

On Jan. 3, 2017, a devastating fire razed much of this market to rubble.

The market fire erupted one day after a devastating fire at a high-rise building in Dhaka on Thursday left at least 25 people dead and scores of others injured.

The high-rise building fire tragedy was the second deadly fire striking Dhaka this year after a blaze ripped through several buildings in old Dhaka, killing at least 81 people on Feb. 21.

TV footage showed the affected shop owners were seen lamenting in open sky as most of them left behind all valuables at the time of the gruesome fire. Enditem