Bangladesh fire: 15,000 homes destroyed in Dhaka slum

A massive fire broke out a slum in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka that left 50,000 people homeless, according to reports.

About 15,000 houses were destroyed in the Chanlantika slum late on Friday, the BBC reported.

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Many houses had plastic roofs, which helped the flames to spread. No deaths have been reported yet, although several people were injured, authorities said.

Most residents are low-wage earners and many were away after the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

Firefighters took more than six hours to put out the flames.

In February, a fire in Dhaka killed about 80 people, and nine died in another blaze in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong.

(With IANS inputs)