Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam has said that he repeatedly asked the panicked residents to not jump from the building that caught fire on Sunday evening.
He said: “I have repeatedly said, do not jump. I said on the phone, don't jump. But they panicked. Those who jumped were taken to the hospital.”
The mayor made the statement while speaking at the briefing after firefighters managed to bring the fire under control after four hours.
He said: Up to 12th floor has been checked, there is no one else inside. I have checked from 7th to 12th floor and no one is inside.”
At least one person was killed in the fire that broke out on the seventh floor of a multistorey building in Dhaka's Gulshan Sunday evening.
At least 22 people were rescued alive from the building, fire service officials said in a briefing. Of them, 9 were male, 12 were female, and one child.
Members of the Bangladesh Army joined the rescue operation as well, says the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The reasons for the fire mishap and the extent of damage could not be confirmed immediately, Anwarul said.