In Pics | Bangladesh market fire burns down thousands of shops

A massive fire in a market in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, injured several firefighters and destroyed around 5,000 stores. Firefighters and army personnel extinguished the fire after fighting it for several hours. The complex hosts some 3,000 shops in the Bangabazar area where the country's famed cloth markets reside. The blaze broke out in the early hours before businesses had opened and spread to neighbouring outlets. 

A massive fire partly destroyed one of the biggest clothing markets in the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday. Some 5,000 stores were burnt down by the blaze.

The fire broke out at the Bangabazar market around 6:10 am and was brought under control after over six hours of efforts at 12:36 pm. Bangladesh Air Force helicopters sprayed water over the burning market. Most of the stores were fully stocked ahead of Eid later this month.

Several members of the Fire Service and Civil Defence were injured while working to control the massive fire, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The first unit of firefighters reached the scene within two minutes, said Anwarul Islam Dolon, an official in the media department of the Fire Service.

Images from the scene show black smoke billowing from the burning complex. Bystanders, including children, formed a human chain to pass plastic containers of water to help the firefighters.