Seven Bangladeshi nationals were sleeping in a residential room inside the shop when the fire broke out. Six victims died at the scene, while the sole survivor was rushed to a local hospital with severe injuries.
International Desk : A fire in eastern South Africa’s Queenstown has left six Bangladeshis dead and one critically injured. Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pretoria Shah Ahmed Shafi shared the information on Tuesday, citing the local Bangladeshi community in Queenstown.
He told that the fire broke out at around 3am local time at a shop where seven people were asleep.Six died in the blaze, while another suffered serious injuries and was admitted to hospital.
“We have contacted the local law-enforcing authorities after learning of the incident. It is still not clear whether it was an accident or an act of sabotage,” the high commissioner said.
The area where the fire occurred is about 1,000km from Pretoria, he added. Shafi has set off for the scene to assess the situation.
Four of the victims were from Alirtek Union in Narayanganj Sadar, while one was from neighbouring Baktabali Union and another from Rikabibazar in Munshiganj.
“They were all related to one another. We are deeply saddened by the news,” Alirtek Union Council member Rowshan Ali told.
