“I didn't know what to do or where to go. I saw three people jump right in front of my eyes. I was going to jump too. I was thinking that my parents would see my body whether they were alive or not. I could not let them see me charred.”
Roshan Ali, an office worker of NewAge Company, who was rescued from the 10th floor, was describing the fire in Gulshan on Sunday night while lying in a hospital bed.
“I came to my boss Arif Sir's house on the 10th floor with a sample from the office around 6 o'clock. After a while, I heard a fire. We tried to stay seven or eight rooms away from the flames, so that smoke could not enter the room through the windows. But around 9:30, I could not stand the smoke and came to the balcony. By then the fire had reached our floor. People were begging to be saved,” he added.
Injured driver Musa Shikder said: “I never thought that I would come back alive. I was just splashing water on my eyes. I was waiting. Finally, around 10 o'clock, a fire service member rescued us. I have lived in this building for four or five years, but nothing like this has happened before. There was a fire extinguisher in the building, but we didn't get a chance to use it.”
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute Director Dr Raihana Awal said Shama Rahman Sinha, who was seriously injured in the fire, is to be kept in intensive care for 72 hours. She is undergoing treatment at United Hospital in the capital.
Out of the fire
Shama Rahman Sinha was stuck in the elevator on the 11th floor of the building while going down. She had to force her way out onto a balcony and then jumped into a swimming pool below in an attempt to survive.
She is the wife of Fahim Sinha, director of ACME Group as well as director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Two others rescued from the 10th floor of the building were also undergoing treatment.
Musa Sikder said: “Shama Rahman Sinha kept calling out to us for help. We tried to open the door to the 10th floor, but by then the fire had reached our floor. Everything was dark with smoke. After a while, I saw someone jump from above and fall into the swimming pool while another fell on the roof.”
Shama suffered several fractures and her lower back was bruised after hitting the cement floor of the pool from the 11th floor.
