At least 43 people die in fire at shopping mall in Bangladesh's capital

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DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) — At least 43 people died and dozens more were injured in a fire at a six-story shopping mall in the Bangladeshi capital, the health minister said Friday.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said the fire broke out late Thursday in the building in Dhaka’s downtown. Firefighters rescued survivors and pulled out bodies, and by early Friday, at least 43 people died and at least 22 others were being treated, he said.

Firefighters said the fire began in a popular restaurant on the first floor of the mall in a busy commercial district at the heart of the capital, and that many people were trapped by the fire.

The cause of the fire could not immediately be determined.

Sen said at least 33 people, including women and children, were declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while at least 10 others died after being taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

More than a dozen firefighting units were deployed to douse the fire that broke out at the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, said Fire Service and Civil Defense Director General Brig. Gen. Md. Main Uddin.

At least 75 people, including 42 who were unconscious, were rescued from the building, rescuers said.