Fire sweeps through Bangladesh slum, killing nine
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| Destroyed houses are pictured after a fire broke out in a slum in Chittagong on Feb 17, 2019. (Photo: AFP / STR) |
The blaze broke out in the port city of Chittagong at about 3.30am and raced through the district of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief Pranab Chowdhury.
"At least 470 shanties were destroyed by the fire. So far nine people have died. They included four members of a family," fire brigade official Hefazatul Islam told AFP.
Fires regularly break out in Bangladesh's slums, where millions live in squalid living conditions.
Rights groups have in the past alleged some shanty town blazes were deliberate acts of sabotage by developers seeking to free up property to construct multi-storey buildings.
"We have seen fires are used as a weapon to evict poor slum dwellers and squatters from government or private property," rights activist Nur Khan Liton told AFP.
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