Two Clerks Die
Kanthaban fire burns chamber of late Advisor Hassan Arif
A.F. Hassan Ariff, Adviser for Civil Aviation and Tourism and Land Ministries of the interim government. Photo: Collected.
Two people have died in a fire at Al Baraka Tower in the capital's Kanthaban vicinity. The fire broke out at a lawyer's chamber located on the 12th floor of the residential building.
Police have confirmed that the chamber belonged to A. F. Hassan Arif, the advisor for Civil Aviation, Tourism, and Land Ministries of the interim government. After his death, his son Barrister Moaz and International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman used to sit there.
The Fire Service received reports of the fire at around 1:05 AM on early Saturday. Later, six units of fire trucks doused the blaze around 3:08 AM. Two people, Md. Johnny (24) and Abdus Salam (20), lost their lives in the fire.
According to lawyer Sarwar, who accompanied them to the hospital, Abdus Salam was the clerk of International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman, and Johnny was the clerk of Barrister Moaz.
Rafi Al Faruk, Duty Officer of the Fire Service Central Control Room, said that two people were rescued from the building in critical conditions and sent to two different hospitals. Among them, Johnny was taken to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, and Abdus Salam was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later, doctors on duty at both hospitals declared them dead.
Lawyer Sarwar said both the men were inside the chamber when the fire broke out. Finding no way out, they both took shelter in a bathroom. Their bodies did not sustain burn injuries.
SI Md. Shahin Hossain, Sub-Inspector of New Market Police Station, said the bodies of the two deceased have been kept at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsies. He added that the actual cause of death can be determined after receiving the autopsy reports.
It is noteworthy that A. F. Hassan Arif was the advisor to the interim government's Civil Aviation, Tourism, and Land Ministries. He passed away on December 19 of last year.
