Late-night fire burns down 20 shops in Khagrachhari

A fire has reduced as many as 20 shops to ashes in Khagrachhari’s Dighinala Upazila.

The incident occurred around 1:30am on Wednesday at Boalkhali’s Notun Bazar.

Four firefighting units were subsequently dispatched to the scene and tamed the fire after two hours, said Khagrachhari Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Zaker Hossain.

The fire reportedly originated at a shop at night and spread very fast, according to witnesses. The structures affected by the fire include restaurants, grocery stores and furniture shops.

Dighinala Police Station chief Md Zakaria said the fire started at "Tripti Hotel" next to Larma Square in Boalkhali Bazar. However, officials have yet to determine the source of the fire.

“Four firefighting units from the (Khagrachhari) Sadar and Dighinala Fire Service worked to control the fire. Initial estimates put the damage at around Tk 100 million,” said Zaker Hossain.

Earlier, on Mar 7, as many as 12 shops were destroyed in another fire in Dighinala.