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| Fire hits Dhaka shopping centre | |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| A huge fire has broken out in one of the largest shopping complexes in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, officials say. Fire-fighters are at the scene. | A huge fire has broken out in one of the largest shopping complexes in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, officials say. Fire-fighters are at the scene. |
| The fire is so hot that the windows of the Bashundhara City mall are reported to be melting. Nearby shops are also reported to have been set ablaze. | The fire is so hot that the windows of the Bashundhara City mall are reported to be melting. Nearby shops are also reported to have been set ablaze. |
| Officials say casualty figures are not clear, but local media say injured people have been taken to hospital. | Officials say casualty figures are not clear, but local media say injured people have been taken to hospital. |
| Officials say the fire broke out on the top floors of the 20-storey building. | Officials say the fire broke out on the top floors of the 20-storey building. |
| The BBC's Mark Dummett, who visited the scene of the fire, says that the affected area contains offices, which were mostly empty as Friday is the first day of the Bangladeshi weekend. | |
| Our correspondent says that thousands of shoppers who were on the lower floors of the complex were able to leave the building. | |
| Vast atrium | Vast atrium |
| Media reports say that the fire-fighters had trouble tackling the flames as they do not have the equipment to go beyond the 13th floor. | |
| Friday is one of the busiest days for the mall | |
| Latest reports say that the fire is dying down after the flames spread downwards from the top floors. | |
| Police Chief Nur Mohammed told the BBC that he believed only one person had been trapped, but later an army helicopter lowered a rope on to the roof of the building and lifted someone to safety. | |
| Mr Mohammed said it was too early to tell what had caused the fire. | |
| Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the army, security agencies and all emergency rescue services to join the rescue operation, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters. | Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the army, security agencies and all emergency rescue services to join the rescue operation, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters. |
| Up to 25,000 people a day visit the capital's first Western-style shopping mall. Friday is one of its busiest days. | |
| Bashundhara City is near the centre of Bangladesh's capital and was built at a cost of more than $100m. | Bashundhara City is near the centre of Bangladesh's capital and was built at a cost of more than $100m. |
| When the mall was completed in 2004, the owners said it was the largest in South Asia and the 12th biggest in the world. | When the mall was completed in 2004, the owners said it was the largest in South Asia and the 12th biggest in the world. |
| It took six years to build and boasts a gym, a food court and an indoor theme park as well as Bangladesh's first multiplex cinema. | It took six years to build and boasts a gym, a food court and an indoor theme park as well as Bangladesh's first multiplex cinema. |
| The vast central atrium is lit by a glass dome in the roof 60 metres across. | The vast central atrium is lit by a glass dome in the roof 60 metres across. |
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