The director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed Kamal, said on Thursday that the cause of the devastating fire that engulfed Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat remains unknown.
Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat around noon, Jahed said the fire was completely extinguished at 11:45am.
He said 10 firefighting units were deployed to combat the blaze, and one of the Secretariat’s gates had to be demolished to allow two large firefighting vehicles access to the scene.
The fire severely damaged several floors of the building, from the sixth to the ninth, where multiple key ministries and divisions were housed.
These included the Youth and Sports Ministry, Labour and Employment Ministry, Posts and Telecommunications Division, Local Government Division, Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, and the Road Transport and Highway Division.
The floors were completely destroyed, reducing them to debris, as reported from the scene.
Talking about the incident earlier, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said it would be determined through the investigation whether the fire was an act of sabotage.
He said that the Cabinet Secretary had been instructed to form a high-level body to investigate the cause of the fire.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and authorities are working to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this massive blaze at one of the country's most significant government buildings, he added.
