Cox’s Bazar, Apr 2 : At least three Rohingyas were killed Friday as a fire – the second in less than two weeks – broke out in the makeshift Kutupalong Bazar near a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar.The fire started in a market store and quickly spread to seven nearby shops in the early hours when residents of the sprawling Kutupalong camp were asleep.
The deceased – Ansar Ullah, 20, Faridul Islam, 25, and Ayas, 22 – used to work in a shop in the market.
They died on the spot as the fire gutted seven clothing stores and damaged 10 to 12 other shops, Kutupalong Bazar Committee President Md Helal Uddin, also the member of Rajapalong Union Parishad said.
Md Imdadul Haque, Ukhiya Fire Service Station in-charge, said: “We are suspecting that the fire originated from an electric short circuit around 4:30am in one of the Rohingya shops. It took us several hours to bring the blaze under control.”
“Three charred bodies were recovered from the spot after we put out the fire,” Imdadul said.
On March 22, a massive fire tore through the Balukhali Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya, killing 11 people.
The fire turned 9,300 shanties, 136 learning centres and a police barrack into ashes, displaced more than 45,000 people.
Aid agencies and the government had started rebuilding shelters after the large scale fire ripped through the camp last month, reports UNB.
