DHAKA, March 13: A helicopter plucked survivors from the roof of Bangladesh’s biggest shopping mall on Friday as a fire raced through the upper levels of the high-rise complex, killing at least seven people and injuring 50 others.

Huge flames shot into the air amid billowing smoke as hundreds of panicked people, many carrying shopping bags, fled Dhaka’s 22-storey Bashundhara City mall, which has more than 2,000 stores and cafes.

A security guard died at a hospital hours after the blaze broke out on the 18th floor, fire official Selina Chowdhury said.

Firefighters recovered three more bodies, all of them men, from an elevator on Friday night after the fire was brought under control, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police official Mahbubur Rahman.

Firefighter Sheikh Mohammad Shahjalal said another three bodies were found later.

Fifteen fire trucks had responded to distress calls, but the flames still spread quickly. Troops and police joined firefighters in the rescue work, said Abul Kalam Azad, spokesman for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. —AP
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