KATHMANDU, Nov 27: A devastating fire tore through the densely populated Korail slum in Bangladesh’s capital on Tuesday evening, destroying or damaging nearly 1,500 shanties and leaving thousands of residents displaced, officials said. No casualties have been reported so far.
According to Rasid Bin Khalid, duty officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, firefighters battled the blaze for 16 hours before bringing it fully under control. The department’s director, Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, said the inferno engulfed a vast area and the number of affected residents is “extremely high.”
About 3,000 homeless as fire consumes Bangladesh slum
Korail, one of Dhaka’s largest informal settlements, sprawls across roughly 65 hectares (160 acres) and shelters an estimated 60,000 families, including many climate-displaced migrants. Wedged beside the upscale Gulshan and Banani neighborhoods, the slum is hemmed in by high-rise apartments and commercial buildings.
As flames spread overnight, thick plumes of smoke blanketed the area. By Wednesday morning, residents wandered through the charred ruins of their homes, searching for whatever belongings survived the blaze. Firefighters said narrow lanes and haphazard structures made reaching the heart of the fire extraordinarily difficult.
Dhaka—now home to more than 12 million people—hosts hundreds of such slum settlements. Poverty, lack of rural employment, and climate-driven disasters continue to push vulnerable families from the countryside into these crowded and high-risk urban enclaves, where many work as day laborers, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, or sanitation staff.
Authorities have pledged swift action to provide rescue, relief, and rehabilitation support for the displaced families.
With inputs from agencies.
