Fire destroys thousands of homes in Dhaka shantytown
A massive fire swept through the Korail shantytown in Dhaka on Tuesday evening, burning or damaging around 1,500 homes and leaving thousands of residents homeless, authorities said. The blaze took 16 hours to bring under control, with heavy smoke blanketing the densely populated area.
No casualties have been reported, according to fire department officials. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said the fire destroyed ramshackle dwellings in the slum, forcing residents to scramble through debris to recover belongings. Narrow alleys made firefighting efforts difficult, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Korail is home to approximately 60,000 families, many of them climate refugees, living on more than 65 hectares between Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan and Banani neighborhoods. Many residents work low-paid jobs such as rickshaw driving, house cleaning, or other daily labor. The city, with a population of over 10 million, hosts hundreds of shantytowns where rural migrants settle due to poverty and climate-driven displacement.
Similar news
